Black tea forgives more than green does, but only up to a point. Water just off the boil pulls everything out of the leaf at once — astringency, body, sweetness, the slightly metallic note at the end of every infusion. Pull it back twenty seconds and the tea changes character entirely.
A starting ratio you can trust
- Leaf
- 5g
- Water
- 200ml
- Temp
- 95°C
- Steep
- 3:30
For Yunnan reds, Keemun, and Lapsang, start here. Yixing pots will pull the temperature down two or three degrees on contact; if you're brewing in a porcelain gaiwan you will lose less.
Boil it once, then let the kettle stand twenty seconds. That is your 95°.
Reading the first steep
If the cup is dark amber and the back of your throat feels slightly dry, drop ten seconds off the next steep. If the cup is pale and thin, add fifteen. Black tea will tell you what it wants by the second pour; the leaf is more honest than the label.
Quick check
4 questions · single choiceYour first steep of a Yunnan red feels astringent and your tongue is slightly dry. What adjustment would you make on the second steep?
Pick one. We will tell you why, not whether.