My gongfu tea is bitter even at five seconds

In short

The steep does not end when the timer stops; it ends when the vessel is empty. If pouring off takes fifteen seconds, a five-second infusion was a twenty-second infusion, and every correction made to the timer is being applied to the wrong number.

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. A slow decant that is not being counted

   Over-extraction

   Check: How long does it actually take to empty the vessel completely?

   Fix: Time the pour once. Count total contact time from the moment water goes in to the moment the last drop leaves, and adjust the steep so the total is what you intended.

2. 2. Leaf blocking the gap between lid and rim

   Equipment

   Check: Does the flow stall partway through the pour?

   Fix: Widen the lid gap slightly and settle the leaf away from it before pouring. A gaiwan that starts fast and stalls has a leaf blockage rather than a design problem.

3. 3. Too much leaf for the vessel, so there is little room for water

   Leaf quantity

   Check: Does the wet leaf fill more than about half the vessel?

   Fix: Reduce the dose. A packed vessel holds so little water that the ratio is extreme and the pour is slow, which compounds the same fault twice.

4. 4. Liquor left behind between infusions

   Over-extraction

   Check: Is there liquid sitting in the vessel when you set it down?

   Fix: Empty to the last drop each time, tipping the vessel fully. Residual liquor keeps extracting at full strength between infusions and is the usual reason a session falls off a cliff.

5. 5. A pot with a restricted spout or an internal filter

   EquipmentInferred by TeaHQ, not established

   Check: Is this a teapot with a built-in filter rather than a gaiwan?

   Fix: Use a gaiwan for teas that need a fast decant, or a pot with a wide open spout. Some pots simply cannot be emptied in under ten seconds, and they are the wrong vessel for short-steep brewing.

Tea types this applies to

• Oolong
• Dark tea and pu-erh

Brewing methods this applies to

• Gongfu brewing (gaiwan) — A high-leaf, low-volume, many-infusions approach: a great deal of leaf in a small vessel, steeped for seconds at a time and poured off completely, repeatedly.
• Gongfu brewing (Yixing pot) — The same short-steep, high-leaf approach as gaiwan gongfu, carried out in a small unglazed clay pot that seasons over time and is dedicated to one tea.

Related problems

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

• Every infusion in my gongfu session tastes the same — The cups are pleasant and interchangeable, with none of the change from steep to steep the method is supposed to show.
• My clay pot has changed how the tea tastes — A tea that tasted right in porcelain comes out muted, differently scented, or carrying something that was not in the leaf.
• My tea goes cold before I finish it — The cup is lukewarm within a few minutes, and in a gongfu session the later infusions arrive noticeably cooler than the early ones.
• My first infusion is always the worst one — The opening cup is thin, dusty or flat, and the second is markedly better — consistently, across different teas.
• My gongfu brewing falls apart when I have guests — Sessions that work perfectly alone become chaotic with three or four people: the tea is inconsistent, the pours are rushed, and the cups arrive at different strengths and temperatures.

Sources