How hot, how long and how much leaf for each kind of tea, with a timer that counts you through every infusion. These are starting points; taste, then adjust.
The basics
Hotter water and longer steeps make tea stronger and more bitter. If it’s bitter, go cooler or shorter; if it’s thin, add more leaf rather than more time.
No thermometer? Just off the boil is about . Three parts boiling water to one part cold makes about ; two parts to one makes about .
Warm the pot or cup with hot water first, so the tea doesn’t cool as it steeps.
Up a mountain water boils cooler, about at 1,500 m, so black tea and pu-erh need a little longer.
For cold brew, put half as much leaf again in cold water and leave it in the fridge: 6–8 hours for green and white tea, 8–12 for black and oolong. It comes out smooth and never bitter.