How to prepare tea
Brew with
intention
From the first calm steep to the moments that call for tea — special cups, occasions, and how each leaf asks to be brewed.
01 · First cup
Start here
Before you specialize, learn one universal steep: heat the water, measure the leaf, pour, wait, and taste. That rhythm underpins gongfu, a Western pot, and every whisked cup that follows.
Leaf and vessel appear inside the steps; for depth on either, we open Varieties and Teaware.
- 01 Heat
- 02 Measure
- 03 Pour
- 04 Wait
- 05 Taste
02 · Special cups
Named preparations & styles
Techniques with a name of their own — lattes, cold brew, gongfu and Western rhythms. Leaf and vessel appear inside the steps; the goal is a specific cup, not a whole tea family.
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LiveMatcha Latte at Home: Ratio, Milk Temp, and Whisk Path
How to make a café-quality matcha latte at home — the 1:60 matcha ratio, 80 °C water, 60 °C milk, and the whisk motion.
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Planned · gongfu-vs-westernGongfu vs Western brewing
Two rhythms of time and vessel — when to choose skillful short steeps or a calm daily pot.
- Planned · gongfu-basics
Gongfu cha basics
High leaf, short steeps, small vessel — the craft of successive pours.
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Planned · western-steepingWestern-style steeping
Lower ratio, longer infusion — the everyday pot without ceremony.
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Planned · cold-brew-teaCold brew tea
Slow extraction for summer clarity without bitterness.
- Planned · iced-matcha
Iced matcha
Shake, layer, and chill — matcha when the day is warm.
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LiveTea for Business & Hosting: A Practical Host System
Serve tea to clients and home guests with a host system: pick a mode, choose leaf by occasion, set up by guest count, and keep timing while people talk.
03 · Occasions
Tea for the moment
Not only how to steep — but what to choose and how to serve when the room has a purpose: a client visit, a table of friends, a quiet desk, a day outdoors. These guides sit beside special cups, not inside them.
- Live
Tea for Business & Hosting: A Practical Host System
Serve tea to clients and home guests with a host system: pick a mode, choose leaf by occasion, set up by guest count, and keep timing while people talk.
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Planned · occasion-gatheringTea for gatherings
Menus, batch brewing, and pacing when friends share the table.
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Planned · occasion-with-childrenTea when children are present
Gentler cups, cooler serves, and thoughtful caffeine awareness — with care, not medical claims.
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Planned · occasion-focusTea for a focused desk
A single calm cup for deep work — leaf, dose, and ritual without fuss.
- Planned · occasion-outdoor
Tea outdoors
Cold brew, sturdy leaves, and gear that travels well.
04 · By leaf
How to brew each kind of tea
A quieter reference library: each family and the heat it prefers. Class chapters — not specialty recipes (those live under Special cups above).
- Gentle heat
White tea
Airy leaves, cool water, patience over force.
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Rare & softYellow tea
Protect the yellowed sweetness — treat the leaf gently.
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Cool waterGreen tea
75–80 °C, short steeps — Longjing and the green family.
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SpectrumOolong
Floral to roasted — temperature and vessel shift the cup.
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Fuller heatBlack tea
Malt, fruit, and a steadier pour than the greens allow.
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Wake the leafPu-erh
Rinse, then long conversations — sheng and shou each ask differently.
- Whisked whole
Matcha
Sift, 80 °C, W-motion — the powder is the cup (not the latte).
Along the way
Leaf and vessel
Every method assumes a leaf and a vessel. We keep those libraries beside brewing — so this page stays about how to prepare the cup.
Choose the leaf
Six colors of tea — what it is, before you pour.
Choose the vessel
Bowl, pot, whisk — when the method is set.
Looking for the leaves and tools named in our guides?
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