Seven pressed teas. Each column gives the first steep, how to lengthen later steeps, and how many steeps the leaf gives. Rows of the same tea type share merged settings.
| Type | Tea | Water | Wash | 500 ml flaskone piece, 5–6 g | Gaiwan 120 mlone piece, 5 g | Teapot 250 mlone piece, 5 g | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Later steeps | Brews | Caffeine, 1st | 1st | Later steeps | Steeps | 1st | Later steeps | Steeps | ||||
| 白茶báicháWhite | 月光白yuèguāng bái · Moonlight White bar |
185°F 85°CBOX up to 212°F if thinBOX |
3 sBOX | 4 min | +2 min | 3 | ~35–50 mg | 10 sBOX | 10 s to the 3rd, then +10 s |
10BOX | 15 sBOX | +10 s | 6–8 |
白牡丹bái mǔdān · White Peony |
5–10 | ||||||||||||
茉莉白茶mòlì bái chá · Jasmine whiteScent fades after 2 brews |
3 min | 2 | 5 | 4 | |||||||||
| 红茶hóngcháBlack | 百合红茶bǎihé hóngchá · Lily blackAlways strain |
203°F 95°C up to 212°F if thin |
None; skim foam off the 1st |
3 min | +2 min | 2 | ~40–50 mg | 10 s | 10 s to the 4th, then 15 s |
5–6 | 15 s | +10 s | 4–5 |
甜蜜蜜 玫瑰红茶tiánmìmì méiguī hóngchá · Rose blackAlways strain |
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| 普洱pǔ'ěrPu-erh | 糯米香 熟茶nuòmǐ xiāng shú chá · Sticky-rice ripeLeaves can stay in |
212°F 100°C | 10 s habit, not from a source |
4 min | +2 min, then +3 min |
4 | ~55–65 mg | 5 s | 10 s ×3, then 15 s ×3 |
7 | 20 s | +10 s | 6–8 |
冰岛 · if ripeBīngdǎo · dark brown leaves |
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冰岛 · if rawBīngdǎo · olive-green leavesAlways strain |
2 min | +1 min, then +2 min |
3 | ~45–50 mg | 10 s | 5 s ×3, 20 s ×3, 40 s ×2, then 60 s |
7–10 | 15 s | |||||
BOX is from the Jesse's Teahouse 月光白 (yuèguāng bái) box. Where a BOX value sits in a merged cell, it applies to the whole white group. Everything else comes from the sources below or is general practice. The box's 85°C is the cool end: the Chayu guide uses 95°C for white and scented tea. Gaiwan times for white, black and pu-erh follow the Chayu guide; all flask and teapot times and brew counts are my synthesis. Black tea gets no wash, following the black tea standard; the 10 s pu-erh wash is common habit, not from these sources. Caffeine is estimated for 5 g in 500 ml, first brew only; a 6 g piece should give roughly a fifth more. The box also puts one 5 g piece in a 250 ml teapot, which is 1 g per 50 ml. That matches the Chayu ratio for white, green and scented tea, but it's lighter than the sources' ratios for black and oolong, and than the usual pu-erh ratio. For those, I'd weigh out 8–12 g and shorten each steep; that's my suggestion, not a source.
The leaf-to-water ratio sets the steep time, not the vessel. A lot of leaf for the water means steeps of seconds; a little means minutes. The same 5 g piece is about 1 g per 24 ml in the 120 ml gaiwan and 1 g per 100 ml in the 500 ml flask. For long steeps I use 1 g per 100 ml for every type; that's the caffeine study's ratio, not a brewing source's rule, so the calculator shows 5 g for every tea at 500 ml. Short steeps use about 2–5 times more leaf, and the amount does depend on type.
| 500 ml flask, long steeps | 120 ml gaiwan, short steeps | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf per 100 ml | 1 g | about 4 g |
| Each steep | Minutes | Seconds |
| Brews from one 5 g piece | 2–4 | 5–10 |
| Tea from one 5 g piece | about 1–2 L | about 0.5–1 L |
| What you drink | A few large, milder cups that taste much the same | Many small, stronger cups whose taste changes with each steep |
| Suits | Class, study, anywhere without a kettle | Sitting at home with hot water to hand |
Per gram, the flask gives roughly twice the tea, milder. The gaiwan gives less, and shows how the tea changes. The litres are my arithmetic: brews times cup size, less what the leaves hold back. The taste comparison is general tea-drinking knowledge, not from a source. The 2025 caffeine study notes that one steep doesn't pull all the caffeine from the leaf; that takes several hot steeps.
Enter any vessel size below.
For teas beyond these seven. The vessel filters above switch between the short-steep and long-steep columns. The Basis column says where each row comes from.
| Type | Water | Wash | Short steepsgaiwan, small teapot | Long steepsflask, mug | Notes | Basis | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf per 100 ml | 1st | Later steeps | Steeps | Leaf per 100 ml | 1st | Later steeps | Brews | |||||
| 绿茶 · 黄茶 lǜchá · huángchá Green · Yellow |
176–194°F 80–90°C |
No | 2 g | 10–15 s | 20, 30, 40 s | ~4 | 1 g | 2–3 min | +1 min | 2 | The most delicate types. Yellow tea is brewed the same as green. | Chayu guide (1:50; 90°C, raised to 95°C for the 3rd and 100°C for the 4th; 10 s first, or 15 s for tightly curled leaf). The 80°C end and long steeps: general practice. GB/T 23776 tastes green 4 min, yellow 5 min. |
| 白茶 báichá White, fresh or pressed |
185–203°F 85–95°C |
Pressed: 3 s | 2–4 g | 10 s | 10 s to the 3rd, then 20, 30 s |
5–10 | 4–5 min | +2 min | 3 | Forgiving. If thin, steep longer or go hotter. | Jesse's box (85°C, 5 g/120 ml, 10 s, 10 steeps); Chayu guide (95°C, 100°C from the 4th; 1:50; 10-10-10-20-30 s; 5 steeps). GB/T 23776: 5 min at 1:50 for tasting. | |
| 老白茶 lǎo báichá White, aged |
203–212°F 95–100°C |
Optional: quick wet, then rest 5–10 min | 3.5–5.5 g | 15–40 s | +10–30 s each, up to 60–120 s |
6–9 | 4–5 min | +2 min | 3 | Older, darker leaf takes boiling water. | T/MCYX 012-2024 (1:18–1:28; 95–100°C; optional warm-rinse, rest 5–10 min; steeps 1–3 at 15–40 s, later 60–120 s, adding 10–30 s each; 6–9 steeps by aged style). Long steeps: general practice. | |
| 乌龙茶 wūlóngchá Oolong |
212°F 100°C |
Not in the sources; skim foam off the 1st | 3.3 g | 5 s; rolled 10 s | 10 s ×3, 20 s ×3, then 40 s ×2 |
7–9 | 3–4 min | +1–2 min | 2–3 | Rolled balls get a longer first steep so they can open. | Chayu guide (100°C, 1:30). GB/T 23776 gaiwan method: 5 g/110 ml, 2-3-5 min, foam skimmed. Long steeps: general practice. | |
| 红茶 hóngchá Black |
203–212°F 95–100°C |
None; skim foam off the 1st | 3.3–5 g | 6–10 s | hold ~10 s, or +4–5 s each |
5–6 | 3–4 min | +2 min | 2 | Turns bitter if the leaves sit. Always strain. | T/CSTEA 00050-2022 (freshly boiled, about 1:20, 5–6 steeps, foam skimmed; light pot 5 g/100 ml: 6–8, 4–6, 8–10, 12–14, 15–18 s); Chayu guide (95°C, 1:30, 10 s ×4, then 15 s at 100°C). GB/T 23776 tastes black 5 min. Long steeps: general practice. | |
| 生普 shēng pǔ Raw pu-erh |
212°F 100°C |
10 s (general practice) | ~5 g | 10 s; loose 5 s | 5 s ×3, 20 s ×3, 40 s ×2, then 60 s |
7–10 | 2–3 min | +1–2 min | 3 | Young raw is the harshest if over-steeped. Old raw from the 1990s–2000s can give 10–30 steeps. | Chayu guide (100°C; times for 1–2-year-old raw, compressed: 10 s first, loose: 5 s). GB/T 23776 compressed tea: 2–5 min then 5–8 min. Wash, leaf amount and long steeps: general practice. | |
| 熟普 shú pǔ Ripe pu-erh |
212°F 100°C |
10 s (general practice) | ~5 g | 5 s | 10 s ×3, then 15 s ×3 |
7 | 4–5 min | +2–3 min | 3–4 | The most forgiving tea, and the only one safe to leave the leaves in. Suits a clay teapot. | Chayu guide (100°C, 5 s, 10 s ×3, 15 s ×3, 7 steeps, clay pot suggested). GB/T 23776 compressed tea: 2–5 min then 5–8 min. Wash, leaf amount, long steeps and leaving leaves in: general practice. | |
| 黑茶 hēichá Other dark tea |
Simmer | Yes | Not usually short-steeped; simmer it | 1–1.25 g | up to 3 min | same | ~3 | Especially old dark tea. Bricks like Fu tea are often simmered in a pot. | Chayu guide (simmer, 1:80–1:100, up to 3 min, about 3 times). GB/T 23776 loose dark tea: 2 min then 5 min. Wash: general practice. | |||
| 花茶 huāchá Scented |
203°F 95°C, 100°C from the 4th |
Not in the sources | 2 g | 10 s; pearls 15 s | 10 s ×2, then 20, 30 s |
5 | 1 g | 3 min | +2 min | 2 | Jasmine white, rose black and so on. The scent goes mostly into the first brews. | Chayu guide (gaiwan, 1:50, 95°C then 100°C, 5 steeps). GB/T 23776 scented tea: flowers removed, 3 g/150 ml, 3 min then 5 min, which the long-steep times follow at half the leaf. Scent fading: general practice. |
GB/T 23776-2018 sets how professional tasters brew tea to judge its quality. It uses boiling water for every type and, for most types, twice the flask's leaf, so it's deliberately strong and not a drinking recipe. It's useful for two things: how steep times compare across types, and how much longer pressed tea needs than loose.
| Section | Tea | Leaf and water | Water | Steeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3.2.1 | Green | 3 or 5 g at 1:50 1 g per 50 ml | Boiling | 4 min |
| Black, white, yellow, strip or curled oolong | 5 min | |||
| Rolled or ball oolong | 6 min | |||
| 5.3.2.2 | Oolong, gaiwan method | 5 g in 110 ml | 2 · 3 · 5 min foam skimmed off the 1st | |
| 5.3.2.3 | Dark tea, loose | 3 or 5 g at 1:50 | 2 · 5 min | |
| 5.3.2.4 | Compressed tea (bricks, cakes) | 2–5 · 5–8 min longer the tighter it's pressed | ||
| 5.3.2.5 | Scented tea, flowers picked out | 3 g in 150 ml | 3 · 5 min | |
| 5.3.2.6 | Tea bag | 1 bag in 150 ml | 5 min |
Takeaways for your flask: compressed tea gets a first steep up to 2.5 times longer than loose dark tea (5 min vs 2 min), and its second steep is about 3 min longer than its first. The standard has no separate pu-erh row; I'm reading pressed pu-erh as compressed tea. Tasters judge flavor at about 50°C (5.3.3.3).
My synthesis of the sources below. Where a rule comes from one source, it says so.
Tender, unoxidized leaf (green, yellow, fresh white) wants cooler water. Oxidized, fermented, aged or tightly pressed leaf (black, oolong, pu-erh, aged white) takes water at or near a boil.
More leaf means shorter steeps. For short steeps the sources run from 1 g per 50 ml (green, white, scented) to 1 g per 18–30 ml (aged white, oolong, black). The black tea standard goes up to 15 g in 100 ml for a strong pot. The national tasting method uses 1 g per 50 ml for 4–6 min, which is strong on purpose. 10 g in the flask would be 1 g per 50 ml; I'd expect it to need roughly half the chart times, but that's my inference. Taste the first brew and adjust.
Short steeps: the sources hold the time or add about 5 s for the first few steeps, then jump by 10–30 s once the tea thins. Aged white reaches 60–120 s late on. Long steeps: add 1–2 min per brew, and 2–3 min late in a ripe pu-erh session.
The Jesse's box washes its pressed white for 3 s, so the chart washes all three whites. The aged white standard makes a quick wet-and-rest optional. The black tea standard skims foam off the first steep instead of washing, and so does the national method's oolong gaiwan method. None of the sources wash green tea. The 10 s pu-erh wash is general practice, not from these sources.
Thin: steep longer or go hotter, as the Jesse's box says. Bitter or drying: go about 10°F cooler or shorter (general practice).
In the 2025 study, longer steeps extracted significantly more caffeine; water temperature made a significant difference only for oolong. In a 2026 study of three 2-min green tea brews, the second brew had the most caffeine. An earlier study it cites found caffeine roughly halving with each brew.