There are 3 Keys to making a good cup of tea. Quantity, Temperature and Time.

Quantity

There is no set rule for how much tea to be used. It all comes down to personal preference and the type of tea being brewed. For someone who is new to tea brewing, we recommend using 3 grams of tea per 8 ounce cup of water. How much is 3 grams of tea?  For most teas, it is 1 tea spoon. However, for some open leaf teas such as White teas and some Oolong teas, it may take two or more teaspoons to equal 3 grams. And for some other teas that are tightly rolled and broken up use less than 1 teaspoon.  Remember, 3 grams of tea per 8 ounce cup of water is not a rule of thumb. You can use more or less tea leaves according to your preference, and your brewing habit. It is always better to use less tea leaves if you are not sure how strong you would like the tea to be.

Water Temperature

Low temperature (160˚F - 175˚F) is ideal for delicate teas such as Chinese Green teas, Steamed Japanese Green teas, and White teas. When infusing young and delicate tea leaves, if the water is too hot the tea infusion will become bitter and astringent. Thus, we recommend using water between 160˚F and 175˚F (70˚c- 80˚c). Examples of teas that required low water temperature are Bi Luo Chun, high grade Dragon Well, Jasmine Pearls, Sencha, Gyokuro, Silver Needle and so on.

Medium temperature (175˚F - 195˚F) is recommended for Green teas with only leaves (no buds), White teas that are fully withered, and Oolong teas that have tender buds. Teas that required medium temperature are Flavored Green Teas, Kukicha, White Poeny, Shou Mei, and Jade Oolong.

High temperature (195˚ F- 212˚F) is best for fully fermented Black teas, Pu-erh teas, and most Oolong teas. Examples are Breakfast teas, Flavored Black teas, Ti Kuan Yin Oolong, Formosa Oolong and so on.  We can use broiling water to bring out the full flavor from these teas.

Steeping Time

How long should we brew the tea for? There are many things to consider.  Personal preference, tenderness of the tea leaves, fermentation level of the tea leaves, and amount of tea leaves, are all taken into consideration when we decide how long a steeping time is for a particular tea.  

Below is a general guide line for different tea types.

Under 2 minutes for the most delicate teas. Teas that fall into this category are Gyokuro, high grade Matcha, high grade Dragon Well, and so on.

2-3 minutes for Green teas, light Oolong teas and green Pu-erh teas. Examples are Sencha, Jasmine Pearl, Gunpowder Green tea, green Ti Kuan Yin Oolong, Pouchong Oolong,Tung Ting Oolong.

 3-5 minutes for Black teas, White teas Dark Oolong teas and dark Pu-erh teas. Examples are Breakfast teas, Chai Teas, Silver Needle White tea, Peony White tea, dark Ti Kuan Yin, and Formosa Oolong.