# How to Brew Tea in a Gaiwan

To brew tea in a gaiwan, preheat it with boiling water, add 5–7 g of leaf per 100–150 ml, rinse the tea with a quick flash infusion, then brew with short steeps: 5–10 seconds for the first, each following one slightly longer. The same leaf holds up for five to ten or more infusions.

The gaiwan — lid, bowl, and saucer — is the most universal piece of teaware. It doesn't accumulate odors the way clay does, so it suits any tea, from delicate Longjing to dense shu pu-erh. The lid conveniently holds back the leaf while pouring and regulates the strength of the liquor, and the open shape lets you watch the leaf unfold from infusion to infusion.

1. **Preheat the ware.** Rinse the gaiwan, gongdaobei, and cups with boiling water. Warm vessels don't "steal" temperature from the water and bring out the aroma of the dry leaf. Discard the preheating water — it has done its job.
2. **Add the leaf.** The standard ratio is 5–7 g per 100–150 ml gaiwan: about a third of the volume for rolled oolongs like Tieguanyin and half for the bulky leaves of Bai Mu Dan. Shake the closed gaiwan and inhale the aroma of the warmed leaf.
3. **Rinse the tea.** Cover the leaf with hot water and pour it off immediately, within 2–3 seconds. The rinse washes away dust and "wakes" the leaf. For green and white teas you can skip it; for oolongs and pu-erhs it is nearly mandatory.
4. **Make the first infusion.** Pour water at the right temperature: 80°C for green tea, 85–90°C for white, 95–99°C for oolongs and pu-erhs. Hold for 5–10 seconds and decant the liquor completely into the gongdaobei, holding the lid with a gap of a couple of millimeters.
5. **Pour and taste.** From the gongdaobei, pour the tea into the cups — this way every cup has the same strength. Sip slowly while the tea is hot, noting the aroma, the texture, and how the taste changes from infusion to infusion.
6. **Keep the infusions coming.** Hold each subsequent infusion 5–10 seconds longer than the last. A good oolong or sheng pu-erh endures 8–12 infusions, a green tea 3–5. When the taste turns flat and watery, the leaf has given everything.
7. **Avoid the common mistakes.** The main errors: boiling water on green tea (bitterness), an overheld first infusion (all the bitterness at once), cold unheated ware, and too little leaf. If the tea is bitter, shorten the time — don't reduce the leaf.

## Tips

- Choose a 100–120 ml gaiwan with thin walls and a wide flared rim — that's where your fingers hold it, and it doesn't burn.
- Decant the liquor completely: water left in the gaiwan keeps brewing the leaf and adds bitterness to the next infusion.
- Don't obsess over exact seconds — watch the color of the liquor and the taste. A timer helps at first; later your hand remembers on its own.

Source: https://www.dao-cha.info/en/guide/gaiwan-brewing