As for the end of the Muromachi period we can conclude that there where two major interests in drinking Tea. One interest in tea was formed in the Heian era, based on the poems of the Chinese Literati such as Lu Yu, who believed that tea could create a spiritual realm. Tea was way to enter a world apart from you daily desires. This interest in tea is not found in the Muromachi era, where tea is seen as a healthy drink. Drinking it became commonplace refreshment, and it even spread towards the world of entertainment. For tea to evolve to the Tea Ceremony as we still know it today, the two approaches for tea where unified. During the Muromachi era tea joint with religious thinking, in particular that of Zen. Jukō was one of the people who first made the connection of Tea with Zenbuddhism. He had been a priest from his early childhood and wanted to implement Zen thoughts into the way of Tea. Following Zen principles, a tea practitioner should not be proud or arrogant. He thought it was important to find a balance between Chinese and Japanese tea utensils and was the first one to introduce the ‘cold and withered’ style. 

Over the course of time the tea contests became more and more open to a broader type of public, finally introducing tea to the people of the somewhat lower classes as well. These people started to organize their own tea parties called unkyaku. These where gathering to enjoy the drinking of tea often together with a game of go and the drinking of wine. There are texts found of rouglhy the same period (15th century), with writings on something called bathing tea. It started to become more and more popular to use the drinking of tea as refreshment after a relaxing bath. Something that most probably also helped to bring tea to the lower classes is the cultivation of it. At first growing tea plants was solely done by the monks of temples that possessed the seeds, but as it raised popularity the cultivation was also done by farmers. It is thought to be very probable that these farmers will have tried to drink some tea even if it was just as a medicine. Source :The Japanese Way of Tea, From its origins in China to Sen Rikyū. By Sen Sōshitsu 

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Akira Matsura on the lavish tea parties of the past.

Source: The Japanese Way of Tea, From its origins in China to Sen Rikyū. By Sen Sōshitsu. 

Source: Sōtōshū Zensho Shingi, pg 167. That is quoted in the book: The Japanese Way of Tea, From its origins in China to Sen Rikyū. By Sen Sōshitsu 

The Rinzai sect that is founded by Eisai, is not the only sect that connected tea with Zen meditation. Dōgen was a Zen teacher who, like Eisai, traveled to China to study Buddhism. After his return to Japan he became one of the founders of the Sōtō sect. In his book the Eihei Shingi he describes  the daily routine around the Zen meditation hall. The book exists of two sections: the greater discipline and the lesser discipline. In these books he explained the etiquettes around welcoming rituals and other events that would implement the serving of tea. In a very explicit way he prescribed the procedure of how the tea should be served more than often in a ceremonial context.

From: The Japanese Way of Tea, From its origins in China to Sen Rikyū. By Sen Sōshitsu. Pg. 76.

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Towards the middle of the Heian Era the popularity of Chinese culture in Japan began to decrease, hence also the culture of drinking Tea. It was Eisai who reintroduced Tea with his book Kissa Yōjōki, ‘Drinking Tea for Health’. And as the title suggests this book was primarily focused on the medicinal characteristics that Eisai found in drinking tea. Eisai had travelled to China to study Buddhism on Mount Tiantai. Although he was also the one who brought Zen Buddhism to Japan after he returned from China, when he reintroduced tea in Japan, it was not the spiritual side of drinking this beverage that he wanted to proclaim. And although his writing on exorcism of the external demons that according to him, cause sickness in the organs, might read as a little unearthly. His goal was primarily practical: to make people aware of the healing properties of Tea.