Oolong teas should be brewed around 90 °C to 100 °C (194 °F to 212 °F), and again the brewing vessel should be warmed before pouring in the water. Yixing purple clay teapots are the traditional brewing vessel for oolong tea. For best results use spring water, as the minerals in spring water tend to bring out more flavor in the tea. High quality oolong can be brewed multiple times from the same leaves, and unlike green tea it improves with reuse. It is common to brew the same leaves three to five times, the third steeping usually being the best.

How to Brew Oolong Tea Properly

Brewing Oolong tea properly is an extremely important step to judge the quality of the Oolong tea and to achieve the best aroma and taste. The following article will describe the commonly-recognized procedures for brewing Chinese Oolong tea.

• Brewing water: recommend purified water or mineral water
• Water temperature: should be about 98 degrees Centigrade or 208 degrees Farenheit
• Brewing vessels: recommend either a Gaiwan (120-150cc) or a Yixing tea pot (120-150cc)
• Brewing tea weight:  between 5-10 grams depending on personal taste

Step 1.  Warm up your brewing vessels-pour the hot water into the vessels, rotate it gently for about 3 seconds, and pour it out.

Step 2.   Smell the dry tea fragrance.  Put the dry tea leaves into the warm vessel.  Shake the vessel gently for about 3 seconds and uncover the lid to smell the dry tea aroma.

Step 3.  Wash the tea.  Pour the hot water to the top of vessel; get rid of the bubble first and pour out the tea soup within 8 seconds.

Gaiwan Procedures:

The Gaiwan is often used when you want to focus on the fragrance from the tea.  In addition, the use of a Gaiwan will allow your tasting to not be influenced by any previous tea oils that may have accumulated in a clay Yixing pot. 

Step 4.  1^st drinkable infusion.  Pour the hot water to the top and then cover the vessel.  Pour out the tea soup within 10-15 seconds and smell the lid to appreciate the concentrated fragrance that will exist there. 

Step 5.  Successive infusions.  Pour the hot water to the top.  When it is time to pour out your infusion, smell the lid fragrance to check whether the aroma decreases or not.  Then, pour out the tea soup. Each successive infusion time should be around 5 seconds more than the previous one.

Yixing Tea Pot Procedures

Step 4.  1^st drinkable infusion.  Pour the hot water to the top.  Then, cover the vessel.  Pour out the tea soup within 10-15 seconds.  Then, uncover the lid and smell the aroma of the tea leaves in the pot.  Special note: please pay attention to the hot vapor that may escape from the pot when you open it to avoid get scalded.

Step 5.  Successive infusions.  Pour the hot water to the top.  Then, cover the vessel.  Pour out the tea soup within 10-15 seconds.  Then, uncover the lid and smell the tea leaves aroma in the pot. Each successive infusion time should be around 5 seconds more than the previous one.