Pay attention to the amount of tea taken and the brewing time.

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When brewing any type of tea, it is essential to first rinse all utensils with boiling water. "Warming the cup and cleaning the utensils" as the name suggests, not only cleans the tea tools but also serves as a prerequisite for a better-tasting brew. If the tea is poured directly into an unwarmed cup, the temperature of the tea will drop rapidly, affecting its flavor. Additionally, rinsing the tea utensils again with the first infusion's water can result in a purer taste!

The amount of tea to be taken should be noted

There is no absolute standard for the amount of tea to be taken, but using too little tea results in insufficient aroma and excessive wateriness, while too much makes the tea overly strong. Generally, for a large covered bowl of about 100 milliliters, 5–7 grams of dry tea leaves can fully showcase the characteristics of a tea. At the beginning, it's best to use an electronic scale to measure the tea for accuracy. Once you become more skilled in brewing, the amount will be easier to control. Of course, it's still best to adjust according to your personal taste preferences—"there is no fixed taste, what suits the palate is precious," and the same principle applies to tea.

Compared to a covered bowl, a Yixing clay teapot releases tea more slowly, requiring not only a reduced tea quantity but also appropriately shorter steeping time. Moreover, due to varying shapes and spout designs among different teapots, the suitable tea amount differs accordingly. Each model has its optimal tea quantity, so we recommend experimenting and adjusting based on actual conditions.

The brewing time is crucial

The impact of brewing time on the tea infusion is undeniable, yet many subtle details are often overlooked. For instance, the timing of water pouring and tea pouring is also included in the brewing time, and it's best to maintain a consistent duration for both.

Although the time required for brewing increases with each infusion, the second infusion takes less time than the first because the first one merely awakens the tea leaves. After being steeped in the first infusion, the internal substances of the tea leaves are released more quickly in the second infusion, so the brewing time can be shortened accordingly.

Additionally, if the tea leaves are more loosely packed or contain a higher proportion of broken pieces, the extraction of internal substances will be faster. In such cases, the steeping time should be appropriately reduced to prevent the tea infusion from becoming bitter or astringent. When the tea cake is tightly compressed, it may not fully unfold during the wake-up steeping, requiring a slightly longer steeping time.