Tea Brewing Method (D)

This page introduces brewing methods for the following teas.

Teas Covered

  • Taiping Hou Kui (Chinese green tea)
  • Taiping Hou Kui Special Tribute (Chinese green tea)
Dry leaves of Taiping Hou Kui Taiping Hou Kui leaves. They are finished almost entirely by hand, with very little rolling, so that they keep their shape.
Taiping Hou Kui brewed in a long glass Taiping Hou Kui brewed in a long glass

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. Gongfu Brewing for Experienced Drinkers

Gongfu brewing is called gongfu cha pao in Chinese. It developed in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, as a way of getting more out of high grade Phoenix Dan Cong oolong. A relatively small amount of water, hot and for a short time, gives the aroma more unity and the taste more clarity.

Every step has to be done quickly, so teaware that pours fast suits this method: a gaiwan, a hohin, a shiboridashi or a small teapot.

Gongfu teaware
Gaiwan Gaiwan (Taiwanese teaware)

Basic Parameters

Teaware Capacity
200ml or less
Tea Leaves
3–5g (the same regardless of water volume)

Steps

  1. Raise the Temperature of the Teapot

    Pour boiling water into the teapot and leave it for 10 seconds to warm it. Once it is warm enough, discard the water and empty the pot.

  2. Rinse the Leaves (Raise Their Temperature)

    Pour boiling water onto the leaves in the teapot, preheat for about 5 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

    Combining the first and second brews in a cha hai steadies the strength. This method gives six brews or more.

Notes

  • Pour out all of the tea so that no water stays in the pot. Water left behind keeps extracting the leaves, which makes later brews too strong and oxidizes the leaves.
  • Adjust the strength with the amount of leaves, not the steeping time.
  • After pouring, take the lid off to cool the leaves. This prevents oxidation and keeps them fresh.

3. Xia Tou Jin Run Pao Fa

This is the method that Chinese tea reference books recommend for Taiping Hou Kui. It is called xia tou jin run pao fa, which describes putting the leaves in first and letting them soak gradually. It suits teas that need delicate handling, meaning soft teas that have not been rolled hard.

You pour a small amount of water first so the leaves take it up and open slowly. Adding the rest of the water then draws out what is in the leaves.

Taiping Hou Kui is often brewed in a long glass so that you can enjoy how it looks. Long glasses are in common use for high grade Chinese tea.

Long Glass

Glass withstands boiling water even when it is not heat-resistant. Coloured glass and crystal affect the taste, so use clear, colourless glass.

Basic Parameters

3g of Taiping Hou Kui leaves on a tea scoop 3g of leaves per long glass of about 150ml
Water Temperature
80°C. Taiping Hou Kui is not a tea grown with nitrogen fertiliser for umami. It is a tea whose clean taste and aroma come from polyphenols. This method steeps for two minutes and then three more, so boiling water draws out too much. Boil the water first, then let it cool a little before use. For a short brew with boiling water, see "2. Gongfu Brewing for Experienced Drinkers" above.
Water Volume
150ml (practical capacity)
Tea Leaves
3g

Steps

  1. Add the Leaves to a Preheated Glass

    Put the leaves into a glass you have warmed in advance. A faint orchid aroma already comes off them at this point.

    Leaves added to a preheated long glass Add 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, and enjoy the aroma rising out of the glass.

    Pouring water to one third of the glass Pour about one third of the water first.
  3. After 2 Minutes, Add the Remaining 100ml and Wait 3 More

    Two minutes later, pour in the remaining 100ml and wait another three minutes.

    * Appearance matters for Taiping Hou Kui, so the tea is made by hand with a very soft touch. The cells of the leaves are barely broken, which is why it needs a longer steep than ordinary green tea.

    Adding the remaining water after two minutes Add the remaining water after two minutes.
  4. Drink with the Leaves Left In

    If the tea comes out too strong, add boiling water to dilute it. This tea is drunk with the leaves left in the glass rather than removed.

    Taiping Hou Kui leaves opening in the glass Taiping Hou Kui leaves opening as they take up the water

Additional Information

  • The leaves take four brews. The strong orchid aroma usually comes in the first. The second gives a rounder, fuller taste, and the third and fourth give the delicate aroma still left in the leaves.
  • Topping up when the glass is down to about a third keeps a comparatively strong aroma going to the end without thinning the tea.
  • If you are not drinking the tea straight away, strain the water off the leaves. Leaves left sitting in water turn the tea very bitter.
Taiping Hou Kui leaves standing upright in the glass The leaves standing upright in the glass. Watching this is part of the pleasure of Taiping Hou Kui.

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.