--- title: 'Brewing tea' url: 'https://howtotea.me/brewing' markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/brewing.md' lang: en date: '2026-11-03' description: 'How to brew tea: Western style with one long infusion, or gongfu cha with a series of short ones. How much leaf to use, which water, and how long to steep.' --- # Brewing tea 泡茶 You can brew the same tea as one long infusion in a big cup or as a dozen short ones in a small [gaiwan](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/gaiwan). Either way, three variables set the flavor: leaf, water and time. ![Unfurled oolong leaves in a white gaiwan](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-afa59c7b.webp) Photo: [Difference engine](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jin_Xuan_oolong_tea_steeping_in_gaiwan.jpg), [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), cropped Hot water draws aroma, sweetness, bitterness and astringency out of the leaf, but not all at once. Aroma and sweetness arrive first; bitterness and astringency catch up later. Brewing well comes down to stopping at the right moment, and there are two ways to do it. ## Two approaches Western style: 2–3 g of leaf to a 200–250 ml cup, one infusion of 2–5 minutes. The leaf releases nearly everything in that one steep, so a second infusion comes out noticeably weaker. This suits a morning cup of [black tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/black) or a big pot for a group. [Gongfu cha](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/gongfu-cha) works the other way round. You use 4–8 g of leaf per 100 ml of water, the first infusion lasts 10–40 seconds, and a session runs from five to fifteen infusions. Each one differs a little from the last, and over a single session the tea reveals its full range, from the aromatic early infusions to the thin, sweet final ones. This is how [oolongs](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong) and [pu-erh](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/puer) are brewed, in a [gaiwan](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/gaiwan) or a [Yixing teapot](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/yixing). ## Three variables ### Leaf How much dry leaf goes into a given volume of water. The more leaf, the shorter the infusion. ### Water Temperature and composition. Brew [green tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/green) at 75–85 °C; pu-erh and rock oolongs take water at a full boil. [Hard water](https://howtotea.me/science/water-and-extraction/water-chemistry) dulls the aroma at any temperature. See [water for tea](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/water) for how to choose it and how far to heat it. ### Time The length of the infusion. Two extra minutes in a [Western cup](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/western) or ten extra seconds in a gaiwan will turn the liquor bitter. The variables are linked. Use more leaf and you need a shorter steep; drop the temperature and you need a longer one. Adjust one at a time. ## If the tea goes wrong If the liquor is bitter, shorten the steep time or lower the temperature. If it tastes thin, add leaf, because a long infusion builds bitterness faster than flavor. Every tea's page lists starting figures in its brewing box. Work from those, one step per session. In this section - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-2bfcf22f.webp) Methods 泡法 Ways to brew tea: gongfu cha with short infusions, Western brewing, the glass, cold brew and boiling on the stove. How they differ and when to use each. ](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods)[Gongfu cha](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/gongfu-cha) · [Western brewing: teapot, tea bag, infuser](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/western) · [Glass and grandpa style](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/grandpa-style) · [Cold brew and iced tea](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/cold-brew) · [Boiling tea (zhu cha)](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/zhu-cha) · [How to make matcha: usucha and koicha](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/matcha) · [Sencha, gyokuro and hojicha: how to brew Japanese green tea](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/sencha-gyokuro) - [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-a06c2c3d.webp) Basics What shapes the liquor in any brewing method: how much leaf and how long, leaf size, which water, warming the teaware and rinsing, and storing tea. ](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics)[How much tea, how long](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/leaf-ratio) · [Water for tea](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/water) · [Warming the teaware and rinsing the leaf](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/preheating-and-rinsing) · [Storing tea](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/storage) · [Leaf size and leaf grades](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/leaf-grades) --- ## Navigation - Previous: [Teaware](https://howtotea.me/teaware.md) - Next: [Tea science](https://howtotea.me/science.md) - Children: - [Brewing methods](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods.md) - [Brewing basics](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics.md)