---
type: Concept
title: Tea Brewing
description: How water temperature and steeping time shape a cup of tea, from green
  tea's gentle 70-80°C to black tea's near-boiling 95-100°C.
tags:
- tea
- brewing
- temperature
resource: raw/tea-guide.md
timestamp: '2026-07-16T15:54:42Z'
citadel_version: 0.3.0
---

Few factors affect the quality of a finished cup of [tea](../objects/tea.md) more than water temperature.[^s1] Because the delicate compounds in lightly processed leaves scorch easily, green tea should be brewed with water well below boiling, at about 70 to 80°C; water that is too hot strips green tea of its sweetness and draws out a harsh bitterness instead.[^s2]

Black tea, by contrast, demands much hotter water, about 95 to 100°C, very near a full boil — only at this temperature do the fully oxidised leaves release their full colour, body, and flavour.[^s3] Oolong and white teas sit between these extremes, and pu-erh is generally brewed hot, often after a brief rinse of the leaves.[^s4]

Steeping time matters as well: shorter steeps preserve subtlety, while longer steeps extract more strength and, eventually, more astringency.[^s5] As a rule, the leaf may be judged by both its colour in the cup and the balance of sweetness against bitterness on the palate.[^s6]

Yellow tea, made much like green but with an added sealing step (see [Tea Processing](tea-processing.md)), is brewed in the same 70-80°C window, if a shade more forgiving of extra heat.[^s7] Oolong sits in between at roughly 85-95°C, with roasted and rock oolongs pushed close to a full boil; pu-erh and other dark teas are brewed hottest of all, at 95-100°C, and traditionally get a quick rinse before steeping to wake the compressed cake, then are steeped many times over.[^s8][^s9]

Two habits carry across every class. Gongfu brewing — a high leaf-to-water ratio in a small vessel, steeped many times for just a few seconds each — reads a tea more completely than one long Western mug, since it lets the drinker taste the cup change from infusion to infusion.[^s10] And cooler is safer than hotter: an under-hot cup of green tea is merely mild, while an over-hot one is ruined — the same rule that governs a whisked bowl of [matcha](../objects/matcha.md).[^s11]

## See also
- [Tea](../objects/tea.md)
- [Tea Processing](tea-processing.md)
- [Matcha Preparation](matcha-preparation.md)

## Sources
[^s1]: [raw/tea-guide.md](../../raw/tea-guide.md), line 78 — water temperature as the biggest factor in cup quality (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s2]: [raw/tea-guide.md](../../raw/tea-guide.md), lines 79-82 — green tea brewed at 70-80°C (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s3]: [raw/tea-guide.md](../../raw/tea-guide.md), lines 84-86 — black tea brewed at 95-100°C (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s4]: [raw/tea-guide.md](../../raw/tea-guide.md), lines 86-88 — oolong, white, and pu-erh brewing temperatures (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s5]: [raw/tea-guide.md](../../raw/tea-guide.md), lines 90-91 — steeping time trades subtlety for strength and astringency (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s6]: [raw/tea-guide.md](../../raw/tea-guide.md), lines 91-93 — judging the leaf by cup colour and sweetness/bitterness balance (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s7]: [raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md](../../raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md), line 135 — Yellow tea brewed at 70-80°C, a shade more forgiving than green (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s8]: [raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md](../../raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md), line 137 — Oolong brewed at 85-95°C, roasted/rock oolongs near boiling (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s9]: [raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md](../../raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md), line 139 — Dark tea/pu-erh brewed at 95-100°C after a rinse, steeped many times (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s10]: [raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md](../../raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md), lines 141-144 — Gongfu brewing method (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s11]: [raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md](../../raw/tea-processing-and-cultivars.md), lines 144-146 — cooler is safer than hotter, the same rule governing matcha (ingested 2026-07-16)
