Leaf & HourLeaf & Hour
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Tea leaves lifted from a glass pot with a strainer
Water, temperature, time

The Ritual

  1. 01

    Warm the vessel

    Rinse the pot or cup with hot water first, so the leaf doesn't lose heat the moment it lands. A cold pot can pull five degrees out of the water before the leaf has opened.

  2. 02

    Weigh, don't eyeball

    A kitchen scale gets you the same cup twice. Volume spoons don't — leaf density varies too much. A rolled oolong and a downy white bud can differ threefold by the spoon.

  3. 03

    Match temperature to leaf

    Delicate whites and greens scorch above 80°C, turning sweet buds bitter and flat. Dark, rolled leaves need a full boil to open up and release their body.

  4. 04

    Steep, then separate

    Pull the leaves out at time. Left in the water, even a good tea turns bitter fast. For rock oolong and Pu-erh, short repeat infusions beat one long one.

Brew temperature by leaf, °C

White & green sit cooler · black, dark & herbal want a full boil

  • White
    75
  • Green
    80
  • Oolong
    95
  • Black
    95
  • Dark
    100
  • Herbal
    100
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Three grams of loose leaf tea on a small kitchen scale
Kit, kept short

A scale, a kettle, and something to strain with

That is genuinely all of it. A variable kettle helps because whites and greens want 75–80°C, but a boiled kettle left uncovered for two minutes lands close enough. What matters far more is separating the leaf from the water on time.

Pick a leaf to practise on