Methods, vessels, and philosophies — from Western pot to gongfu cha, from gaiwan to tetsubin.
The same tea can taste like two completely different things, depending on how you brew it. A few grams of leaf, a certain temperature of water, a certain length of infusion, a certain kind of vessel — change any of them, and the tea changes.
This section is about method. What the differences actually are, when each approach works, and how to get the most out of the tea you have.
Small vessel, high leaf-to-water ratio, many short infusions. The method that lets a tea show everything it can do.
Water temperatures and steep times for green, oolong, black, white, and pu-erh — the numbers that matter, and why they differ.
The simplest Chinese tea vessel — a cup, a lid, a saucer. How to hold it, how to pour, and why it works for almost any tea.
One mug, five minutes, one infusion — or a small pot, many short infusions. Two traditions, two different ideas of what tea is for.
The numbers, the variables behind the numbers, and why a cup of tea's caffeine content depends on far more than the category it belongs to.
What is actually inside a tea bag, why loose leaf tastes different, and when the bag is the right choice anyway.