The Way of Tea & Culture
The art of brewing tea to its true flavour
Temperature, timing, and a quiet mind — the three elements of a truly proper pot of tea.
Brewing tea begins with water. The ancients called water “the mother of tea” — clear spring water, low in minerals, brought just to the boil, is best. Water boiled long and hard turns tea flat; water not hot enough cannot wake its fragrance.
Each kind of tea has its own water temperature: green tea favours 75–80°C to keep its tender, grassy sweetness; white tea and light oolong around 85–90°C; darker oolong and black tea need 90–95°C for their aroma to unfold in full; ripe pu-erh withstands a rolling boil to awaken its deep, woody notes. A few degrees off, and the cup is already changed.
To choose a pot is to choose the tea’s temperament. Zisha clay holds heat and “nurtures” fragrance, suiting oolong and pu-erh; porcelain pots and the gaiwan are neutral, honouring the true taste of green and flower teas. A small pot, many infusions — that is the spirit of gongfu brewing.
The measure sets the strength: usually 5–8 grams of leaf for a small pot. Before brewing, warm the pot and cups with hot water, then “awaken” the tea with one quick rinse — washing away dust while coaxing the leaves open for the infusions to come.
Steeping time is the breath of the teapot — the first infusion wakes the leaves, the second opens the flavour, the third brings a deep sweet finish. Fine tea can run many infusions, each a new layer of scent. Do not hurry: steep too long and the tea turns harshly bitter, yet fine tea never fails the one who knows how to wait.
When pouring, empty the pot completely and share it evenly among the cups, so each holds the same taste. Lift the cup, breathe in the scent before you taste, and sip slowly so the finish can bloom at the throat. To drink tea is to savour the lingering “aftertaste” that remains once the cup is empty.
But above all is a quiet mind. From the same pot, one who brews in haste draws bitterness; one who brews unhurried draws sweetness. Temperature, timing, proportion — all can be learned; only the calm within the one who brews is something no thermometer can measure, and yet it makes the truest cup of all.
