My leaf floats on top and will not sink

In short

Floating leaf is not brewing leaf. Whatever is on the surface is only partly wetted, so the effective dose is lower than the dose you weighed, and the result is a weak cup that a longer steep only partly rescues.

Likely causes, in order

Most likely first. Answer the question under each one before moving on — several of these look alike in the cup and are told apart only by what was done to the leaf.

1. 1. Very light, fluffy or downy leaf that traps air

   Leaf quality

   Check: Is it a white tea, a downy bud tea, or a large open-leaf green tea?

   Fix: Pour the water onto the leaf rather than adding leaf to water, and pour from a little height so the stream pushes it under. Downy leaf is buoyant until the air trapped in the down is displaced.

2. 2. Water too cool to wet the leaf quickly

   TemperatureInferred by TeaHQ, not established

   Check: Is the water well below 80 °C?

   Fix: Wet the leaf with a small amount of hotter water first, then top up with cooler water. Cooler water wets more slowly, which is why low-temperature brewing shows this more.

3. 3. The leaf was added after the water

   Technique

   Check: Which went into the vessel first?

   Fix: Leaf first, then water. Leaf dropped onto a full vessel sits on the surface tension and can stay there for a minute or more.

4. 4. A basket or infuser holding the leaf above the water line

   Equipment

   Check: Is the basket deep enough that the water actually covers the leaf?

   Fix: Use less leaf per basket, a wider basket, or more water. Leaf above the water line is not brewing at all, and this is a common cause of weak tea from a correctly weighed dose.

5. 5. No agitation at all

   Agitation

   Check: Has anything stirred or disturbed the leaf since the water went in?

   Fix: A single gentle stir at the start is enough. It is not needed for most teas and it is the quickest fix for a stubborn floating raft.

Tea types this applies to

• White tea
• Green tea

Brewing methods this applies to

• Mug infuser brewing — Loose leaf in a basket inside a mug — the most common way loose tea is actually made, and the method most often responsible for people concluding that loose leaf is not worth the trouble.
• Western brewing (teapot or mug) — A small amount of leaf in a large volume of water, steeped once for a few minutes and then strained off. The approach most English-speaking drinkers already know, and the one most teas sold in the West are made for.
• Grandpa style — Leaf loose in a tall glass or flask, topped up with hot water through the day and drunk around the leaf. It is how an enormous proportion of tea is actually consumed in China, and it needs no equipment whatsoever.

Related problems

Sharing a cause category, a tea type or a brewing method with this one.

• Leaves stick to the cup, the pot and my teeth — Fine leaf clings to the inside of the vessel, comes through into the cup, and ends up in the last mouthful.
• My green tea goes yellow or brown in the cup — The liquor is green when poured and turns yellow, olive or brownish within minutes, sometimes with a darker rim.
• My tea gets drier and harsher as it cools — The first mouthful is balanced and the last one, several minutes later, grips the tongue and feels rough — from the same cup, with nothing added.
• My water is not the temperature the kettle says — The kettle is set to 80 °C and the tea behaves as though it were much hotter or much cooler, and the same setting gives different results on different days.
• Tea from my flask tastes stewed by mid-morning — Tea that was fine when it went into the flask is dark, thick and harshly drying an hour or two later, and worse again by lunchtime.

Sources