Brew assistant

Infusion schedule

A session of 2–3 infusions is typical. The schedule below is authored to 2; beyond that, extend each steep noticeably rather than repeating the last time.

1. Infusion 120sTwenty seconds, not sixty. Every particle is tiny and there is almost no leaf structure for water to work through, so the extraction is essentially complete before a sencha's first infusion has started.
2. Infusion 215s

Equipment

• Kyusu
• Dobin
• Yunomi (Japanese teacup)
• Thermometer
• Brewing timer
• Kyusu filter — The filter built into the pot is the property that most decides whether it suits your tea: sasame, obiami and drop-in basket differ mainly in filtration area.
• Yuzamashi (water cooler) — A wide shallow vessel drops boiled water fast and repeatably before it reaches leaf that would scorch.

Vessel: A kyusu with a deep fine mesh, or the tea will be in the cup rather than in the pot. This is the one Japanese green where the filter is the binding constraint on the vessel and a coarse ceramic strainer is simply the wrong tool.

Note: Hotter and much shorter than a leaf sencha, and both differences come from particle size rather than from quality. It is deliberately brewed strong and fast where it is served, because the job is a brisk palate-clearing cup rather than a nuanced one — which is a genuine design decision about the tea, not a compromise forced by the grade.

What this does not tell you

• These parameters are a synthesis of common practice rather than recorded practice for this specific tea.

• No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea, so the assistant cannot tell you how strong the cup will be in that sense.

• Leaf weight is a weight. A teaspoon is not — a fluffy white tea and a tightly rolled oolong differ several-fold by volume, so scales beat spoons here.

Other authored styles for this tea: Western brewing (teapot or mug) · Gongfu brewing (gaiwan) · Cold brew tea