What Affects a Good Cup of Tea?

At Tea Chapter, we have spent every year since 1989 chasing one simple thing: a genuinely good cup of tea. The finest leaves can disappoint if brewed carelessly - and a modest tea can sing when treated with respect. Here is what makes the difference.

1. The tea - and how you keep it

Good tea begins with good leaves, but freshness matters just as much. Tea readily absorbs moisture and odours, so for everyday drinking, keep it in an airtight container, away from light, heat and damp.

Where you store it matters. A study or bedroom is ideal - away from direct sunlight and strong smells. Avoid the kitchen, and remember that even cupboards carry odours the tea will pick up.

Ageing your tea? Some teas (such as pu'er) improve with age. For these, do the opposite - do not seal them in an airtight container; let them breathe in a clean, dry, odour-free spot so they can mature gracefully.

2. The water - almost the entire cup

A cup of tea is roughly 98% water, so water quality is decisive. Soft, fresh, low-mineral water lets a tea's character shine; hard or chlorinated tap water flattens it. Use filtered or good spring water, freshly drawn and freshly boiled - and do not repeatedly re-boil, as it goes flat.

3. The temperature - matched to the tea

This is where most cups are won or lost. Delicate teas scald if the water is too hot; robust teas stay closed if it is too cool. See the tables below for the right temperature by type.

4. How much leaf

Too little and the cup is thin; too much and it turns harsh. A rough mug guide is about 1 teaspoon (2-3g) per cup - or, the traditional way, a measured fraction of your teaware (see the gongfu table).

5. Steeping time

Under-steep and it is weak; over-steep and it turns bitter. In a mug, 1-3 minutes depending on the tea; in a teapot or gaiwan, far shorter (20-30 seconds to start). Both are set out below.

6. The teaware

Material shapes the cup. Yixing (purple clay) suits oolong and pu'er - it holds heat and rounds the flavour. Porcelain and glass stay neutral and clean - ideal for green, white and floral teas, where you want clarity (and to admire the liquor).

Brewing, simply - in a mug

The times below are for mug-style brewing. Brewing in a teapot or gaiwan? Use the gongfu method underneath - much shorter, repeated infusions.

The Tea Chapter way - gongfu (teapot or gaiwan)

To brew as we do at the teahouse: short, repeated infusions that draw out a tea's full range. Begin with the first-infusion time below, then add about +5 seconds to each infusion that follows.

These cover most teas; a few special leaves brew a little differently - ask us, or check the tea's own page.

Tea is best shared. If you are in Singapore, come brew a pot with us at the teahouse.