There is no single correct way. The same tea in a gaiwan and in a big teapot tastes different, and both versions can be good. Below are five methods, from the most ceremonial to the one you do at your desk without looking away from the screen.
Gaiwan, or gongfu cha
A porcelain bowl with a lid, usually 100–150 ml. You use a lot of leaf, roughly 5 g per 100 ml, and pour for a very short time: the first infusion 10–15 seconds, each following one a few seconds longer. One portion of leaf gives six, eight, sometimes a dozen infusions, and each tastes different: the first are bright and floral, the middle ones deepest, the last sweet and light.
This is the method for people who want to hear what the tea has to say. It takes a quarter of an hour and requires attention.
Teapot
The calmer version. About 3 g of leaf per 200 ml, brewed for 2–3 minutes, then a second and third steep, each slightly longer. A teapot holds heat better than a gaiwan, so the liquor comes out fuller but less precise. A good choice when two people are drinking and nobody wants to keep pouring.
Clay remembers. If you brew pu-erh in one pot and green tea in another, after a few months the difference is easy to taste. That is why teapots are usually dedicated to one kind of tea.
Straight in the cup
In China this is sometimes called grandpa style, and it is not mockery. A pinch of leaves at the bottom of a glass, hot water, and you drink from the top, topping up as it empties. The leaves settle by themselves. Just remember not to pour boiling water over delicate greens, or they turn bitter.
The simplest method and an honest one. It works well with large whole-leaf teas, less well with fine broken leaf.
Cold brew
About 5 g per litre of cold water, into the fridge for six to eight hours. The result is sweet, with no bitterness and no astringency, because at low temperature the tannins barely pass into the water. It works best with white and jasmine teas.
Set it up in the evening. By morning it is ready, and it keeps in the fridge for two days.
In a thermos
The travel method, but not for every tea. The leaf sits in hot water for hours, so delicate greens and whites become undrinkable. Dark teas take it well: pu-erh, Liu Bao, aged pressed teas. Two or three grams per half litre lasts a whole morning.
Water temperature
The one thing that can easily ruin good tea. Green and yellow teas 80–85°C, whites 85–90°C, oolongs and red teas around 95°C, dark teas and pu-erh a full boil.
Without a thermometer: after boiling, water in an open vessel cools to about 85°C in four to five minutes. Pouring it once into a jug and back drops it by roughly five degrees.
Cheat sheet: temperature, leaf, time
Numbers are a starting point, not a law. Taste, then adjust one thing at a time.
| Tea | Water | Leaf per 100 ml (gaiwan) | First steep | Re-steeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 80–85°C | 3–4 g | 10–15 s | 3–5 |
| White | 85–90°C | 4–5 g | 15–20 s | 5–8 |
| Yellow | 80–85°C | 3–4 g | 10–15 s | 3–5 |
| Oolong | ~95°C | 5–6 g | 10–15 s | 6–10 |
| Red (black) | ~95°C | 4–5 g | 10–15 s | 5–8 |
| Dark, pu-erh | 100°C | 5–6 g | 10–20 s after a rinse | 8–12 |
How many times can you re-steep the same leaf?
In a big teapot, two or three times. In a gaiwan, as long as the leaf keeps giving: a good oolong survives eight infusions, an aged pu-erh more than ten. Make each steep a little longer than the previous one.
The tea is finished when the liquor turns thin and flat, like water that only remembers being tea. Nothing dramatic happens before that, so keep pouring until it stops being interesting.
Five mistakes that ruin good tea
- Boiling water on green tea. It cooks the leaf and you get bitterness instead of freshness.
- Too little leaf brewed too long. You get everything bad from the leaf and nothing good. More leaf, shorter time.
- Heavily chlorinated tap water. Let it stand overnight or filter it; the tea is 99% water.
- One teapot for everything. Clay keeps the memory of smoky pu-erh and passes it to your jasmine.
- Storing leaves next to coffee or spices. Tea picks up smells faster than anything else in the kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my tea taste bitter?
Almost always one of two things: water too hot or steeping too long. Drop the temperature ten degrees or halve the time, and try again with the same leaf.
Can I re-boil the water?
Once is fine. After several boils the water goes flat and the tea with it. If the kettle has been sitting, pour fresh.
Do you add milk to Chinese tea?
Traditionally no, and with most of these teas milk simply hides what you paid for. The exception people enjoy is a strong malty red tea, and nobody will arrest you.
How should I store loose leaf tea?
Airtight, dark, away from smells. A tin in a cupboard beats a glass jar on a sunny shelf. Green teas are best within a year; dark teas only get better.
If you do not know where to start, take 10 g of anything and brew it twice, two different ways. The difference will tell you more than any guide.
And if you want to start small — we sell tea by weight, from just 10 grams. That is plenty to try it and decide whether you want more.