Tea MasterHow long to steep tea
Steep black tea for 4 minutes, green tea for 2–3 minutes, white tea for 3–5 minutes, oolong for about 3 minutes and Earl Grey for 2 minutes. Herbal teas need longer: chamomile 5 minutes, peppermint and hibiscus 5–7 minutes, rooibos 6 minutes. These times are for loose leaf in a mug or teapot at the right water temperature; Japanese sencha needs only 30–60 seconds.
Steep time chart (mug or teapot)
| Tea | Steep time | Water | Leaf per 100 ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black tea (breakfast, Assam, Ceylon) | 4 min | 96 °C (205 °F) | 2 g |
| Earl Grey style (bergamot) | 2 min | 95 °C (203 °F) | 1 g |
| Keemun | 3–4 min | 90 °C (194 °F) | 1.6 g |
| Dian Hong Golden Buds | 3–5 min | 85 °C (185 °F) | 2 g |
| Chinese green tea | 2–3 min | 82 °C (180 °F) | 1 g |
| Longjing, Bi Luo Chun | 1–2 min | 80–82 °C (176–180 °F) | 1.2 g |
| Sencha | 30–60 s | 75 °C (167 °F) | 2.5 g |
| Gyokuro | 2 min | 55 °C (131 °F) | 3.3 g |
| Hojicha | 30–60 s | 90 °C (194 °F) | 2 g |
| Genmaicha | 1 min | 85 °C (185 °F) | 2 g |
| Silver Needle | 3–5 min | 82 °C (180 °F) | 1.6 g |
| White Peony | 3–4 min | 88 °C (190 °F) | 2 g |
| Shou Mei | 3–5 min | 95 °C (203 °F) | 2 g |
| Tie Guan Yin, Da Hong Pao | 3 min | 90 °C (194 °F) | 1.5 g |
| Jin Xuan milk oolong | 2–3 min | 90 °C (194 °F) | 1.4 g |
| Rou Gui (rock oolong) | 5–8 min | 100 °C (212 °F) | 2 g |
| Shu pu-erh | 3.5–4 min | 96 °C (205 °F) | 2 g |
| Sheng pu-erh | 3–5 min | 95 °C (203 °F) | 1 g |
| Rooibos | 6 min | 98 °C (208 °F) | 2 g |
| Chamomile | 5 min | 100 °C (212 °F) | 1 g |
| Peppermint, hibiscus, lemongrass | 5–7 min | 100 °C (212 °F) | 1 g |
100 ml is about 3.4 fl oz, so a 250 ml (8 oz) mug takes 2.5 times the leaf shown. For conversions, see how much tea per cup.
What happens while tea steeps
Aroma and the lighter, sweeter flavours come out first. Body and colour build next. Bitterness and astringency arrive last and keep climbing. That is why steep time is the main dial for strength: a minute too long often matters more than an extra gram of leaf.
Colour is a poor guide. Broken black tea turns dark in seconds, while Silver Needle stays pale even when fully brewed. Use a timer and judge by taste.
Time also depends on temperature. Hotter water extracts faster, so if you cannot get your water down to the right number for green tea, cut the time instead. See the tea water temperature chart.
How to steep tea step by step
- Heat fresh water to the temperature for your tea.
- Weigh the leaf: about 1 g per 100 ml for green, Earl Grey and herbal tea, 1.5–2 g for black tea, oolong and white tea.
- Warm the teapot or mug with a splash of hot water and pour it out.
- Add the leaf, pour the water over it and start a timer straight away.
- When the timer ends, separate the leaves from the tea completely: lift out the infuser or pour everything through a strainer.
- Taste. Next time, change the time by 30 seconds in the direction you want, keeping everything else the same.
Tea bags vs loose leaf
Tea bags usually hold small broken leaf, which gives up its flavour much faster than whole leaves. Start at the short end:
- Black tea bag: 2–3 minutes, up to 4–5 if you take milk.
- Green tea bag: 1–2 minutes in water around 80 °C (176 °F).
- Herbal tea bag: the full 5 minutes or more, covered.
Squeezing the bag against the spoon pushes out the most bitter part of the brew. Lift it out and let it drip instead.
Gongfu steep times: seconds, not minutes
In gongfu brewing you use 5–8 g of leaf per 100 ml and steep for seconds, then repeat many times with the same leaves. Each steep is a little longer than the last. A typical schedule for shu pu-erh, Tie Guan Yin or Da Hong Pao at 95 °C: 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60 and 80 seconds. Chinese green tea gongfu runs 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 and 180 seconds at 82 °C.
The method is explained in gongfu tea brewing. Tea Master's gongfu mode counts each steep and moves to the next time automatically, so you are not tracking seconds in your head.
Milk tea, iced tea and cold brew
- With milk: steep black tea the full 4 minutes, or 5 for a strong builder's cup. Short steeps taste weak once milk goes in. For the full method, see how to brew black tea.
- Hot-brewed iced tea: use double the leaf, steep for the normal time, then pour over a glass full of ice.
- Cold brew: steep in the fridge for hours, not minutes: about 4 hours for sencha, 5–6 hours for most green and white tea, 8 hours for Shou Mei and herbal tea.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the leaves in. Tea keeps steeping as long as the leaves sit in the water. The second cup from the pot ends up bitter.
- One time for everything. Four minutes is right for black tea, too long for sencha and too short for rooibos.
- Brewing by colour. Use a timer.
- Fixing weak tea with more time only. If a tea is thin at the right time, add leaf. If it is bitter, cut time or temperature first.
- Short herbal steeps. Chamomile and mint need 5 minutes or more to taste of anything.
