A gongfu session is written as three numbers: how much leaf for the water, how hot the water is, and the steep schedule, the first steep plus how much longer each one gets. "20 s +5 s" means 20 seconds, then 25, 30 and so on. These are the common starting points for every type of tea; tune them to the tea in front of you.
Starting points by tea
| Tea | g/100 ml | Water | First | Each | Steeps | Schedule (s) | Rinse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 4 g | 80°C | 10 s | +5 s | 4 | 10 · 15 · 20 · 25 | — |
| White | 5 g | 90°C | 15 s | +5 s | 6 | 15 · 20 · 25 · 30 · 35 · 40 | — |
| Yellow | 4 g | 80°C | 15 s | +5 s | 4 | 15 · 20 · 25 · 30 | — |
| Oolong | 6 g | 95°C | 20 s | +5 s | 7 | 20 · 25 · 30 · 35 · 40 · 45 · 50 | Yes |
| Black | 5 g | 95°C | 10 s | +5 s | 6 | 10 · 15 · 20 · 25 · 30 · 35 | — |
| Sheng pu-erh | 7 g | 100°C | 10 s | +5 s | 10 | 10 · 15 · 20 · 25 · 30 · 35 · 40 · 45 · 50 · 55 | Yes |
| Shou pu-erh | 7 g | 100°C | 10 s | +5 s | 10 | 10 · 15 · 20 · 25 · 30 · 35 · 40 · 45 · 50 · 55 | Yes |
| Dark | 6 g | 100°C | 15 s | +5 s | 8 | 15 · 20 · 25 · 30 · 35 · 40 · 45 · 50 | Yes |
| Herbal | 3 g | 100°C | 1:00 | +30 s | 3 | 60 · 90 · 120 | — |
Leaf for your teaware
Ratios are per 100 ml so they work for any pot. For yours, multiply by its volume; here it is worked out, to the half gram:
| Tea | 60 ml | 80 ml | 100 ml | 120 ml | 150 ml |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 2.5 g | 3 g | 4 g | 5 g | 6 g |
| White | 3 g | 4 g | 5 g | 6 g | 7.5 g |
| Yellow | 2.5 g | 3 g | 4 g | 5 g | 6 g |
| Oolong | 3.5 g | 5 g | 6 g | 7 g | 9 g |
| Black | 3 g | 4 g | 5 g | 6 g | 7.5 g |
| Sheng pu-erh | 4 g | 5.5 g | 7 g | 8.5 g | 10.5 g |
| Shou pu-erh | 4 g | 5.5 g | 7 g | 8.5 g | 10.5 g |
| Dark | 3.5 g | 5 g | 6 g | 7 g | 9 g |
| Herbal | 2 g | 2.5 g | 3 g | 3.5 g | 4.5 g |
Measure your pot's real volume once: fill it with water to where you'd brew and weigh it, a gram for every millilitre. The number printed on a pot is often more than it holds in use.
Notes on each tea
- Green. Leave the lid off between steeps so the leaf doesn't stew.
- White. Silver needle likes it a little cooler (about 85°C); aged white can take boiling water.
- Oolong. Rolled oolongs open up over the first two steeps. Roasted rock oolongs take boiling water and shorter steeps.
- Sheng pu-erh. Young sheng turns bitter fast: flash the early steeps and only stretch them once they soften.
- Shou pu-erh. Many people rinse shou twice to wake compressed leaf and wash off storage dust.
Kyusu: long, short, longer
Japanese greens in a kyusu follow their own schedule rather than a steady increment: 60, 10, 30 s, with about 3.5 g per 100 ml at 70°C. The first steep opens the leaf; the second is almost a flash; the third is longer again. Pour every last drop out each time.
Western, for comparison
A Western pot uses much less leaf and one long steep:
| Tea | Leaf per 100 ml | 300 ml pot | 500 ml pot | Water | Steep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 1 g | 3 g | 5 g | 75°C | 2:00 |
| White | 1.2 g | 3.5 g | 6 g | 85°C | 4:00 |
| Yellow | 1 g | 3 g | 5 g | 80°C | 2:30 |
| Oolong | 1.2 g | 3.5 g | 6 g | 90°C | 3:00 |
| Black | 1 g | 3 g | 5 g | 95°C | 4:00 |
| Sheng pu-erh | 1 g | 3 g | 5 g | 95°C | 3:00 |
| Shou pu-erh | 1 g | 3 g | 5 g | 100°C | 4:00 |
| Dark | 1 g | 3 g | 5 g | 100°C | 4:00 |
| Herbal | 1.5 g | 4.5 g | 7.5 g | 100°C | 6:00 |
How to run a session step by step: how to brew gongfu style. Water temperatures in °F too: tea water temperature chart.
Steepbook is a free app that remembers the steep that worked for each tea, teaware and brew style. Have a look if that sounds useful.