ACCORDING to Chinese history, the steeping of tea is of utmost importance.
Steeped to quickly and the tea will not realise its true character, steeped to long and it will become bitter.
The amount of tea used in the pot, the heat of the water and the energy and intent used to boil the tea also comes into play.
Firstly, boil your water. Once it has reached the boil swirl a small amount of tea around in your teapot to rid any bad ‘qi’ or cold energy.
Now, with a warmed teapot, you can add your tea leaves and pour over hot water.
Use roughly a small teaspoon per cup and learn to develop an intuition about how much to use in relation to your tastes and the size and coil of the tea leaf.
If you use an oolong, which is tightly rolled, you will need less than if you use a larger dried leaf as the oolong will expand during the hot water steep.
Wait several minutes for the tea to infuse. Once you feel the tea is ready pour it into cups, always serving others before yourself, and then enjoy.
Do not wait for your tea to cool too much for it is thought to lose its live ‘qi’ or energy. Drink it while it is ripe and ready.