Tea Steeping Calculator
Boiling water is what ruins green tea.
Boiling water is what ruins green tea. Leaf quantity, water temperature and steeping time by tea style, scaled to your pot and cup size.
100% is the conventional dose for the style
Leaf for this pot
5 g
96 °C for 4 minutes · 2 cups
Black tea takes near-boiling water. Under-heated water is the usual cause of a weak, flat cup that more leaf will not fix.
How the Tea Steeping Calculator works
Leaf quantity, water temperature and steeping time by tea style, scaled to your pot and cup size. Temperature is the input most people get wrong, and it is the one that turns good tea bitter.
Also known as: how long to steep green tea · tea water temperature guide · how much loose leaf tea per cup · why does my tea taste bitter
Temperature is what ruins green tea
Green tea wants water around 75 °C. Above about 80 °C the catechins extract rapidly and the tea turns harsh and bitter, and shortening the steep does not fix it — the bitterness comes out first, not last.
This is the single most common tea mistake in countries where the default is to pour boiling water on everything. Black tea genuinely wants near-boiling water; using the same kettle temperature for green tea is why so many people conclude they dislike it.
Getting there without a thermometer is straightforward: boil, then let the kettle stand a few minutes, or add a splash of cold water. The exact figure matters less than being clearly below boiling.
Leaf quantity, space, and re-steeping
Around 1 g of leaf per 100 ml suits most styles, so roughly 2.5 g in a standard cup. Pu-erh and herbal infusions take more; delicate greens take about the same but at much lower temperature.
Space matters as much as quantity. A cramped infuser ball prevents the leaves unfurling, so the water never reaches most of the leaf surface and the cup is weak regardless of how much went in. A basket or a pot with room is a bigger improvement than adding more tea.
Whole-leaf oolong and pu-erh are made for repeated infusions, and the second and third are frequently better than the first — the leaf opens progressively. Broken leaf in a bag extracts almost everything at once, which is what bags are optimised for.
Water, storage and the things that are not tea
Very hard water flattens delicate teas and leaves a surface scum from calcium reacting with tea compounds. Heavily chlorinated water is worse. Filtered water is the easiest single improvement to a cup and costs almost nothing.
Tea absorbs odours readily, which makes storage a real concern — airtight, cool, dark and away from coffee, spices or anything strongly scented. Green and white teas lose brightness within a year; pu-erh is one of the few that improves with age.
Herbal infusions are not tea at all and follow different rules. They contain no tannins to turn astringent, so they take full boiling water and a long steep and simply become stronger rather than bitter. Treating them like green tea produces a weak, disappointing drink.
Where to go next
The Tea Steeping question rarely arrives on its own. These are the ones that usually come with it:
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Frequently asked questions
How much tea leaf per cup?
Roughly 1 g per 100 ml for most styles, so about 2.5 g in a standard 250 ml cup. Pu-erh and herbal infusions take more; delicate greens take about the same but at a much lower temperature.
What temperature should green tea be?
Around 75 °C. Above about 80 °C the catechins extract fast and the tea turns bitter, which is the single most common green tea mistake and is not fixed by shortening the steep.
Why does my tea taste bitter?
Usually water too hot for the style, or steeping too long. Tannins extract more slowly than the flavour compounds, so an over-long steep is astringent even at the right temperature.
Can I re-steep tea leaves?
Whole-leaf oolong and pu-erh are made for it, and the second and third infusions are often better than the first. Broken-leaf tea in bags extracts almost everything in one go.
Does herbal tea follow the same rules?
No — herbal infusions are not tea and contain no tannins to turn astringent. They take full boiling water and a long steep, and they do not become bitter the way real tea does.
Should I use boiling water for black tea?
Near-boiling, around 95 to 100 °C. Under-heated water is the usual cause of a weak, flat cup, and adding more leaf does not fix it.
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