Tea MasterTea water temperature chart
Use cooler water for delicate leaves and hotter water for dark, rolled or aged ones: 55–75 °C (131–167 °F) for Japanese green tea, 80–84 °C (176–183 °F) for Chinese green tea, 82–98 °C (180–208 °F) for white tea, 90–100 °C (194–212 °F) for oolong, 95–96 °C (203–205 °F) for black tea and pu-erh, and a full boil for herbal tea. No thermometer? Let boiled water rest for a set time, or mix boiling and cold water in a fixed ratio.
Water temperature chart by tea
| Tea | °C | °F | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gyokuro | 55 | 131 | Very cool water brings out the savoury, brothy taste |
| Sencha | 75 | 167 | Higher grades can go even cooler |
| Matcha | 75 | 167 | Whisked, not steeped |
| Longjing (Dragon Well) | 80 | 176 | Protects the chestnut sweetness |
| Chinese green tea, Bi Luo Chun | 82 | 180 | The safe default for loose green tea |
| Mao Feng, Gunpowder | 84 | 183 | Sturdier leaves, still not boiling |
| Silver Needle | 82 | 180 | Cooler water keeps the buds sweet |
| Moonlight White | 85–88 | 185–190 | Western 85 °C, gongfu 88 °C |
| White Peony | 88–90 | 190–194 | Western 88 °C, gongfu 90 °C |
| Shou Mei | 95–98 | 203–208 | Darker white tea, takes near-boiling water |
| Jin Jun Mei | 82 | 180 | Bud-heavy black tea, treat it gently |
| Dian Hong Golden Buds | 85 | 185 | Golden buds scorch in boiling water |
| Keemun, Lapsang Souchong | 88–90 | 190–194 | Chinese black teas |
| Black tea (breakfast blends, Assam, Ceylon) | 96 | 205 | Just off the boil |
| Earl Grey style (bergamot) | 95 | 203 | Short 2 minute steep |
| Jin Xuan milk oolong | 90 | 194 | Green, rolled Taiwanese oolong |
| Dan Cong, Dong Ding, GABA oolong | 92 | 198 | |
| Tie Guan Yin, Da Hong Pao | 90–95 | 194–203 | Western 90 °C, gongfu 95 °C |
| Rou Gui, Shui Xian (rock oolong) | 98–100 | 208–212 | Roasted oolong wants a full boil |
| Shu pu-erh | 95–96 | 203–205 | Gongfu 95 °C, western 96 °C |
| Sheng pu-erh, aged sheng cake | 95–100 | 203–212 | Older cakes take boiling water |
| Hojicha, Genmaicha | 85–92 | 185–198 | Roasted and rice teas handle more heat than sencha |
| Rooibos | 98 | 208 | Needs heat to extract |
| Chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, lemongrass | 100 | 212 | Full rolling boil, cover while steeping |
Why the right temperature matters
Hotter water pulls everything out of the leaf faster, including the bitter, drying compounds. That is fine for black tea, roasted oolong and pu-erh, which are built to handle it. Green tea, Japanese tea and bud-heavy teas have more delicate flavours that boiling water flattens into bitterness within a minute.
Temperature, time and the amount of leaf work together. If you brew hotter, shorten the steep. If you brew cooler, give it a little longer. A green tea that is bitter at 95 °C for 3 minutes is often sweet at 80 °C for the same time. For times by tea, see the steep time chart.
- Too hot: bitter, astringent, a dry feeling on the tongue, aroma gone quickly.
- Too cool: thin, watery, flat. Common with rooibos, Shou Mei, roasted oolong and herbal tea brewed below the boil.
How to get the temperature without a thermometer
1. Boil, then wait. In an open kettle or jug, freshly boiled water usually drops to about 90 °C (194 °F) within 1–2 minutes and to around 80 °C (176 °F) after about 5 minutes. A large, full or insulated kettle cools much more slowly, so check your own kettle once with a cheap thermometer and remember the times.
2. Mix boiling and cold water. This is the most repeatable method. Add the cold water to the cup or pitcher first, then the boiling water. With tap water at about 20 °C (68 °F):
| Boiling : cold | Result | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 4 : 1 | about 84 °C (183 °F) | Chinese green tea, Mao Feng, Silver Needle |
| 3 : 1 | about 80 °C (176 °F) | Longjing, Bi Luo Chun |
| 2 : 1 | about 73 °C (163 °F) | Sencha, matcha |
| 1 : 1 | about 60 °C (140 °F) | Gyokuro (let it cool a little more) |
3. Watch the bubbles. The old Chinese method reads the pot. Tiny bubbles on the bottom with light steam: roughly 70–80 °C. Strings of small bubbles rising: roughly 80–85 °C. Larger bubbles breaking the surface: roughly 90–95 °C. A full rolling boil: 100 °C. It is approximate, but good enough for green and white tea.
4. Pour between vessels. Each pour into a room-temperature cup or pitcher costs several degrees. Pouring boiled water into a cool jug and then onto the leaves is a simple way to take the edge off for green tea.
5. Use a variable kettle. Kettles with 70, 80, 90 and 100 °C presets remove the guesswork. Pick the nearest setting from the chart.
Gongfu vs western: does temperature change?
In gongfu brewing you use much more leaf and steeps of seconds, so many teas are brewed slightly hotter than in a mug. Tie Guan Yin and Da Hong Pao, for example, go at 95 °C gongfu but 90 °C in a mug for 3 minutes. White Peony goes from 88 °C western to 90 °C gongfu.
The small vessel matters too. A cold 100 ml gaiwan steals a lot of heat from the water, so rinse it with boiling water first. For roasted oolong and aged pu-erh, keep the kettle on a warmer between steeps. For the full method, see gongfu brewing step by step and how to brew oolong.
Altitude and boiling point
Water boils below 100 °C at altitude, roughly 1 °C lower for every 300 m. At 1,500 m (about 5,000 ft) it boils at about 95 °C (203 °F). That makes no difference for green or white tea, but black tea, rooibos, roasted oolong and herbal tea come out weaker. Compensate with a longer steep or a little more leaf rather than chasing a temperature you cannot reach.
Common mistakes
- Boiling water on green tea. The number one cause of bitter green tea. Use 75–84 °C, see how to brew green tea.
- Cold teaware. A thick ceramic mug or cold teapot can drop the water by 10 °C or more. Warm it with hot water first, especially for oolong, pu-erh and black tea.
- Underheated herbal tea. Chamomile, peppermint and hibiscus need a full boil and a covered cup to extract properly.
- One temperature for all white teas. Silver Needle likes 82 °C, Shou Mei close to boiling.
- Not adjusting. If a tea is bitter, drop the temperature by 5 °C next time before you cut the leaf. If it is flat, go 5 °C hotter.
