Kyusu brewing vs gongfu brewing
The two multi-infusion traditions in everyday use, and they are far closer to each other than either is to western brewing. Both use more leaf and less time than a teapot, both pour off completely, and both shorten the second steep — which surprises people who have only met one of them.
brewing method
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Kyusu brewing (Japanese style) | Gongfu brewing (gaiwan) |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf to water | Around 2 g per 100 ml. | Higher again: a fifth to a third of the vessel filled with dry leaf. |
| First infusion | 45 to 90 seconds, depending on the tea. | Often ten to twenty seconds. |
| Second infusion | Markedly shorter — 15 to 30 seconds — because the leaf is already open. | Also short, then extending steadily as the leaf gives out. |
| Temperature trajectory | Starts low, around 70 to 80 °C, and rises through the session. | Usually high and steady, at or near boiling for oolong and dark tea. |
| Number of infusions | Two or three. | Six to fifteen, and the third and fourth are frequently the best. |
| Vessel and filter | A kyusu, whose wide ceramic mesh is what lets fine deep-steamed leaf be poured off at all. | A gaiwan, where the lid holds the leaf back and the porcelain contributes nothing. |
| What it is built around | Japanese green tea, which is authored for this ratio and tastes thin at western ones. | Oolong and dark tea, where the change across a session is the reason to use the method. |
The short answer
Anyone already brewing sencha in a kyusu is most of the way to gongfu and does not need to buy anything to find out. Use the same discipline — pour off every drop, shorten the second steep — on a rolled oolong in the same pot, and the method transfers intact.
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