The Buddy System
A TeaBuddy guide
Steep it right the first time.
How hot, how much leaf and how long each steep, for every kind of tea. These are the same starting points TeaBuddy fills in when you log a session.
The steeping chart
What are you brewing?
Pick the tea and how you brew it. Treat the numbers as a first pass: taste each steep and nudge from there.
A few things worth knowing
Gongfu or western?
Gongfu means lots of leaf in a small pot or gaiwan and many short steeps, so you taste the tea change from one steep to the next. Western means a little leaf in a big mug and one to three long steeps. Same tea, two different evenings.
If it tastes off
- Bitter or harsh: cooler water or a shorter steep.
- Thin or watery: a longer steep or more leaf.
- Fading fast: add a little time to each steep.
The rinse
For rolled oolongs, black and dark teas, a quick rinse wakes the leaves up and warms the vessel. Pour hot water over, wait a few seconds, tip it away, then start counting steeps.
Remember the good sessions
TeaBuddy logs every steep with its time and a note, so you can see exactly how a tea changed across the session, and brew your favourites the same way again.