Why can't Chinese tea be ground into powder and drunk directly like coffee beans?

I often browse Zhihu and find many questions like this. I've answered them, and I'll also post it here with slight modifications.

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There is a way to directly drink (eat) tea leaves themselves

For example, matcha is Japan's "national tea," but remember, matcha also originated from China.

There are many other ways to eat tea

Make tea into dishes. In Taiwan, there is a tea-themed restaurant with over a hundred dishes, each containing tea;

Tea scrambled eggs, which I must order when I go to Laobanzhang;

Tea pickling, such as pickled vegetables, etc. Many ethnic minorities like the Blang people have been eating tea for a long time...

But drinking tea plain is the mainstream

There are hundreds of nationally renowned teas, with various brewing methods and even more teaware. I won't expand on this.

Let me talk about a less common perspective: tea is a way to communicate with "heaven and earth."

"Eat tea and go" is the Zen saying of Master Zhaozhou.

"Tea and Zen are one flavor" is the saying of Zen practitioners.

Tea is used in sacrifices, as said by those who offer sacrifices.

"What are you arguing about? Let's have a cup of tea." That's the saying of the wise.

"Do you have time? Let's have a cup of tea together?" Tea is the bond of business.

"I've set up a tea room; come have tea when you have time." Tea is a platform.

Drinking tea alone, tea is the antidote to loneliness.

...

Tea is Zen language,

Tea is a way of life,

Tea is a medium,

Tea is a companion for cultivation,

Tea is a platform.

Tea can be many things,

Eating is just one of them.

The romance of Easterners is all in a cup of tea!