Tea Brewing Method (C)

This page introduces brewing methods for the following teas.

Teas Covered

  • Nepalese black tea
  • Indian black tea
  • Chinese black tea (Yunnan Mi Xiang Black Tea, Yunnan Ancient Black Tea Xing Mi Xiang, Keemun Black Tea, Qimen Te Gong, Jin Ya, Guangxi Black Tea, Huo Feng Huang, Bai Shu Black Tea, Lapsang Souchong, Lapsang Souchong Xiao Chi Gan, High Mountain Purple Black Tea, Jin Luo, Wild Black Tea, Yunnan Ancient Black Tea)
  • Taiwanese black tea (Hong Yu / Formosa Black Tea, Mi Xiang Black Tea)

Five methods are introduced for the teas listed above.

Common Points

Water

  • Tap water passed through a water purifier
  • Or mineral water

* When using tap water, use a purifier with an activated carbon filter to remove the chlorine.

Heating Water

○ Recommended

  • Stainless steel kettle
  • Stainless steel electric kettle
  • Electric kettle with a keep-warm function (for example Tiger or Zojirushi)
  • Titanium and tin also work, including tin-plated copperware

△ Use with caution

  • Iron kettles depend on how they pair with the material of the teapot, so use them with care.
  • Glass kettles vary by material, and some bring out astringency or cut the body of the tea.

× Avoid

  • Earthenware, copper, aluminium, brass and silver kettles release metal ions that flatten the finish. Silver adds fullness and can make the aroma seem stronger, but it also erases the finish, which does not suit a good tea with a strong body.
  • Earthenware kettles look handsome, but most of them work against the taste, so we do not recommend them.

Materials of Teapots and Teacups

Ceramics
Ceramic teapots are often assumed to improve the taste, though that is not true of all of them. The material has a strong effect either way. In practice, more than half of the ceramics we have tested cut the body and bring out astringency. When a tea lacks depth, the teapot is often the reason.

Porcelain and Glass
Porcelain and glass look neutral, so they are assumed to leave the taste alone. Dissolution tests detect minerals leaching from both. Comparing several materials side by side shows a clear effect on the taste. The better the tea you drink, the more carefully the material needs to be chosen.

Whatever the type, the material affects the taste. Choose teaware by its material as well as its design.

Water Temperature

  • 100°C (boiling)

* Use water that has been kept at a rolling boil for 3–5 minutes.

* Prolonged boiling turns the calcium bicarbonate in the water into calcium carbonate, which makes the tea taste sweeter.

1. Beginner-Friendly / Suitable for Large Groups

This is a simple method for teas with relatively fine leaves, such as black tea and green tea, using a teapot with a practical capacity of around 300ml.

Green tea is generally assumed to need a lower temperature. Brewed hot it rarely turns bitter, and the aroma comes through with a taste that surprises most people. HOJO deals mainly in teas that are rich in minerals and polyphenols, and polyphenols extract better as the temperature rises, so boiling water suits them well.

Teapot

Basic Parameters

Tea Leaves
3–5g (2–3g for 1–2 people, 5g for 3–4 people)
Water Volume
300ml (practical capacity)

Steps

  1. Warm the Teapot

    Pour boiling water into the teapot, leave it for 10 seconds, then discard the water once the pot is warm. Filling the pot as much as possible preheats it more thoroughly.

  2. Preheat the Tea Leaves

    Pass boiling water over the leaves once and pour it straight out after a few seconds. Preheating stops the water temperature from dropping and gives the tea more aroma and clarity. You can skip this step until you are used to the method.

    * Without preheating, the temperature drops by roughly 20°C even when you pour boiling water.

  3. Brew the Tea

    Put the measured leaves into the teapot and pour in boiling water.

    • 1st brew: about 1 minute
    • 2nd brew onward: a few seconds, up to 10 seconds

    Combining the first and second brews in a cha hai steadies the strength. From the second brew the leaves are already open, so a short steep is enough.

    Cha hai Cha Hai (Taiwanese teaware)

2. Semi-Gongfu Brewing Method for Finer Leaves

Gongfu brewing comes from Chaozhou in Guangdong Province. A small amount of water, hot and for a short time, brings out a unified aroma and a clear taste. Teaware that pours quickly suits it: a gaiwan, a hohin, a shiboridashi or a small teapot.

Gongfu teaware
Gaiwan Gaiwan (Taiwanese teaware)

Basic Parameters

Tea Leaves
3–5g (the same regardless of water volume)

▶ The video for this method is at the top of the page

Steps

  1. Warm the Teapot

    Pour boiling water into the teapot, leave it for 10 seconds, then discard the water once the pot is warm.

  2. Rinse the Leaves (Preheat)

    Pour boiling water onto the leaves in the teapot, preheat for 2–3 seconds, then pour it straight out. Pour quickly from a low position, avoiding the leaves directly, so the temperature does not drop.

  3. Brew the Tea
    • 1st brew: 5–10 seconds
    • 2nd brew onward: a few seconds

    The first brew always comes out light. Combine the first three brews in the cha hai to adjust the strength. From the fourth brew, a few seconds of steeping is still enough.

Notes

  • Pour out all of the tea so that no water stays in the pot. Water left behind keeps extracting the leaves and causes oxidation.
  • Adjust the strength with the amount of leaves, not the steeping time.
  • After pouring, take the lid off to cool the leaves and keep them from oxidizing.

3. Using a Glass

Brewing in a long glass is common in China. It is easy and works almost anywhere. A plain, straight glass without a pattern lets you watch the leaves. Avoid coloured glass, including pale green and blue, since it affects the flavour.

The leaves do not sink easily, so pour the water in two stages. A small amount first lets the leaves take up water and settle; the rest then draws out the flavour and taste efficiently.

Basic Parameters

Glass
Use clear, colourless glass. Lead-free crystal often pairs well. Coloured glass and crystal affect the flavour and are not suitable.
Tea Leaves
2-3g
Water Volume
150–200ml (about 3g of leaves per 150ml glass)

Steps

  1. Warm the Glass and Add the Leaves

    Warm the glass with boiling water for 10 seconds, discard the water, then add the leaves. A warm glass keeps the temperature from dropping.

    Adding leaves to a preheated glass Add 2–3g of leaves to a preheated long glass.
  2. Pour Water to One Third

    Pour boiling water slowly and gently to about one third of the glass, or just enough to cover the leaves. Swirl the glass gently so the water soaks into them.

    Pouring water to one third of the glass Pour about one third of the water first.
  3. Add the Rest and Steep for 2 Minutes

    Once the leaves have taken up the water, fill the glass to about 80 per cent and steep for 2 minutes before drinking.

    Filling the glass to about 80 per cent Fill to about 80 per cent once the leaves have settled.
    Steeping Wait 2–3 minutes.

Additional Information

  • If the tea is too strong, top it up with boiling water.
  • Topping up when the glass is down to about a third keeps the aroma going without thinning the tea.
  • The leaves take three brews. The first gives a fresh green aroma, the second a sweeter and fuller taste, and the third a milder aroma with a clean finish.

4. Making Cold Brew Tea

The article below covers the cold brew procedure in more detail.

Basic Parameters

Water
Water that has been boiled and cooled, with the chlorine removed. Boiling first brings out the sweetness and aroma. Unboiled water tastes somewhat watery.
Tea Leaves
5g per 1 litre
Steeping Time
4–6 hours in the refrigerator, then remove the leaves. Dilute with water if it comes out too strong.
Storage
Keep refrigerated at around 5°C. It stays fresh for three days.

5. Recommended Method for Reducing Caffeine

Caffeine extracts readily above 80°C and hardly dissolves below it. Cold brewing with cooled water uses that property to cut the caffeine content sharply.

The point is to steep a small amount of water for a long time to make a 5× concentrate. You then dilute it with boiling water when you serve, the way you would a cordial. It works at home and just as easily at the office.

Basic Parameters

Water
Water that has been boiled and cooled, with the chlorine removed
Tea Leaves
5g per 100–200ml (a 5× concentrate)
Steeping Time
4–6 hours in the refrigerator or at room temperature
How to Drink
Dilute the concentrate five times with boiling water.

Storage

After opening, reseal the tea in the aluminium bag it arrived in and keep it out of direct sunlight and away from humidity. Do not decant the leaves into a HOJO tin: contact with the metal changes the taste and the aroma.

If you have a heat sealer, sealing the bag with an oxygen absorber inside will keep the tea fresh for far longer.

Do not keep tea in a refrigerator or a freezer. Condensation forms every time the bag is taken out, and within a few days it oxidizes the surface of the leaves and dulls the aroma.

Teas meant to age, such as raw pu-erh and white tea, are best left unopened in as warm a room as you can give them. As with decanting wine, a long-aged tea also gains aroma if you open it and leave it a few days.