The Ritual
Nothing here is fussy. Four habits, repeated, are the whole difference between a good leaf wasted and the cup its farmer intended.
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01
Warm the vessel
Rinse the pot or cup with hot water first, so the leaf doesn't lose heat the moment it lands. A cold pot can pull five degrees out of the water before the leaf has opened.
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02
Weigh, don't eyeball
A kitchen scale gets you the same cup twice. Volume spoons don't — leaf density varies too much. A rolled oolong and a downy white bud can differ threefold by the spoon.
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03
Match temperature to leaf
Delicate whites and greens scorch above 80°C, turning sweet buds bitter and flat. Dark, rolled leaves need a full boil to open up and release their body.
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04
Steep, then separate
Pull the leaves out at time. Left in the water, even a good tea turns bitter fast. For rock oolong and Pu-erh, short repeat infusions beat one long one.
Brew temperature by leaf, °C
White & green sit cooler · black, dark & herbal want a full boil
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White
75
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Green
80
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Oolong
95
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Black
95
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Dark
100
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Herbal
100
A scale, a kettle, and something to strain with
That is genuinely all of it. A variable kettle helps because whites and greens want 75–80°C, but a boiled kettle left uncovered for two minutes lands close enough. What matters far more is separating the leaf from the water on time.
Pick a leaf to practise on