There is much diversity within the world of puerh tea and we should not attempt to utilize the same brewing parameters across the board. Mastery in the art of Gong Fu tea is about coaxing out and bringing to the fore the individuality and best characteristics from each respective tea. To do this you must be able to assess and understand the tea in front of you. Identifying the best practice for a given tea requires a degree of familiarity before formulating how best to utilize the different variations in water/temperature/steeping time within the ideal brewing vessel. The study of a new tea requires being able to experience and see the full spectrum that the tea can offer and thereafter selectively bringing to the fore the best from within that spectrum.
The following guidelines/tips are the cornerstone to how I approach my puerh tea session. I share them to provide direction for those interested in putting them into practice in order to seek out answers that would be fitting under their own circumstances. i) the tea to water ratio sets the tone of a tea session whether it be light/medium/heavy, ii) thick chunks of tea requires breaking up to no more than 2 to 3 layers of compressed leaf for an even exposure, unwanted/foreign objects laying hidden can also be removed, iii) the cleanliness of the tea leaves convey how often and long the rinse is required, iv) the heat within the brewing vessel defines the depth/penetration of extraction, it can make the difference between a resulting brew that possesses depth and complexity to a substandard brew that holds simple and one dimensional flavors, v) the secret to accurately estimating steeping time is in assessing the strength of the tea coupled with the rate of release, vi) the desirable characteristics within the tea together with our own preferences provides an outliner to what the brew should deliver. Brewing plays a key role in the enjoyment of tea because what is presented in the cup will govern our impression and judgment of that respective tea. Investing towards elevating your brewing skills will ensure that you do justice to the tea that you brew and this becomes more significant when we advance to more expensive and rare teas.
