A Puerh producer's guide to brewing Sheng Puerh?

As tea producers, our recommended approach prioritizes getting the most accurate picture of any tea, by keeping brewing parameters consistent at the start.

•           Water type: Use filtered or soft spring water, never tap water where possible
•           Water temp: Always water just off the boil (100C / 212F)
•           Leaf ratio: 5g to every 100ml of water
•           Rinse: 5s rinse with boiling water
•           Early infusions: The first 5-6 infusions should all be flash steeps, max 3-4 seconds. (You may opt to extend the very first steep to 10s, if the leaves are tightly pressed.)
•           Subsequent infusions: past steep 5-6, extend time by several seconds each subsequent steep, or when flavor noticeably starts to taper down
•           Longevity: Good sheng Puerh may be steeped between 10 – 15 infusions and beyond

The first 1-2 steeps are naturally light, do not attempt to “push” the tea at this stage. Maintaining flash steeps allows the flavor progression to take place naturally, achieving full expression and peaking after steeps 4-5.

Pushing steep times too early will result in over-extraction for the first few infusions (yielding bitterness or astringency), and a premature decline of later steeps.