Tea Brewing
Gongfu Brewing for Beginners
Lots of leaf, little water, very short steeps. Here is how to run a gongfu session with equipment you probably already own.
Key takeaways
- Roughly 5 grams of leaf to 3.5 oz (100 ml) of water — about five times Western strength.
- Steeps start at 10–20 seconds and grow a few seconds each round.
- You get eight or more cups from one scoop, each tasting different.
What gongfu actually means
Gongfu cha translates roughly as 'making tea with skill'. In practice it means using a high leaf-to-water ratio in a small vessel and pouring off very quickly, over and over.
The point is not ceremony. It is resolution: instead of one averaged cup, you taste the tea change from round to round.
The minimum kit
A 100 ml gaiwan or small teapot, a strainer, a small pitcher to pour into, and a cup. A kitchen scale helps enormously at the start.
- Gaiwan or small pot: 3–5 oz (100–150 ml)
- Scale accurate to 0.1 g
- Pitcher so every cup is the same strength
- Kettle you can pour slowly from
A session, step by step
Warm everything with hot water. Add 5 g of leaf to a 100 ml gaiwan. For compressed pu-erh or roasted oolong, do a 5-second rinse and discard it.
First infusion: 10 seconds. Pour out completely — leaving liquid behind stews the leaves. Second: 12 seconds. Third: 15. Keep adding a few seconds and stop when the cup tastes thin.
Which teas reward it most
Rolled oolongs, aged pu-erh and dense black teas change the most across infusions. Delicate greens are harder to control and are usually better Western style.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a special tea tray?
- No. A rimmed baking sheet or a deep dinner plate catches spills perfectly well while you learn.
- Is gongfu brewing wasteful with expensive leaf?
- The opposite. Five grams giving eight cups works out to less per cup than a single Western pot from the same tea.
- Why pour into a pitcher instead of straight into cups?
- The first drops are weaker than the last. Decanting into a pitcher evens it out so everyone gets the same brew.
About the author
Written by the Leaf & Steep editorial team. We brew, weigh and re-test everything we publish at home with ordinary kitchen equipment — no lab, no sponsorships influencing the verdict. How we test.
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