tea basics, one cup at a time
Twenty-four lessons on the one plant behind every cup, the six families from white to dark and what oxidation really does, water temperature and steep times by family with the cooling-off rule, western and gongfu brewing, reading a tea label, storing tea fresh, re-steeping good leaves, and milk, sugar and lemon.
One lesson, one diagram, and one honest cup. That's a page.
tea basics, one cup at a time
Twenty-four lessons on the one plant behind every cup, the six families from white to dark and what oxidation really does, water temperature and steep times by family with the cooling-off rule, western and gongfu brewing, reading a tea label, storing tea fresh, re-steeping good leaves, and milk, sugar and lemon.
Set in Space Grotesk, Inter and JetBrains Mono (SIL Open Font License).
Every fact in this book is as the primary source states it, fetched and read during this build: the Wikipedia articles Tea, Tea processing, Green tea, Oolong, Black tea, Pu'er tea, Herbal tea and Tea culture, all cached at build time and cited in each lesson's source line. Where two sources state different numbers, each is stated as its source states it. Practical rules this book states as its own plan (the cooling-off rest, the first proper pot, the five-minute gongfu round) are labeled as this book's plan and rest on mechanics from those sources. This is a book of beginner tea literacy, not a buying guide: no brand recommendations, the plant, its processing and its brewing only. An independent guide; not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia. No facts are sourced from Reddit, YouTube, forums or search engines.
Your purchase is for personal use only. You do not have redistribution rights: please do not share, resell, or republish this book or its pages.
© 2026 Steve Hodgkiss. All rights reserved. Personal use only; no redistribution rights.
Edition 1.0 · stevehodgkiss.net
Contents
Per the Wikipedia article Tea, tea is 'an aromatic beverage prepared by infusion of hot or boiling fresh water with fresh or cured leaves of Camellia sinensis', 'an evergreen shrub native to East Asia' from the borderlands of southwestern China, northeast India and northern Myanmar. Two principal varieties are used: sinensis for most Chinese and Japanese teas, assamica for Pu-erh and most Indian teas. A plant left alone grows to a tree of up to 16 m; cultivated plants are pruned to waist height. Only the top 25-50 mm are picked, the 'flush' of a terminal bud and two young leaves, with a new flush every 7-15 days; leaves slow in development 'tend to produce better-flavoured teas.'
The true tea plant
Every tea you will ever drink, white, green or black, comes from one plant: Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub from the borderlands of China, India and Myanmar.
Left alone it becomes a tree of 16 meters; on farms it is pruned to waist height, because a short bush grows more of the part worth picking: the top 25 to 50 mm, a bud and two young leaves, the flush, renewed every 7 to 15 days.
Slow leaves make better tea. Everything else in this book is what happens to that flush after it leaves the bush.
Look at any loose leaf you own this week and find the twisted bud and leaf pairs; that is the flush in your hand.
Per the Wikipedia article Green tea, green tea is made from leaves and buds of Camellia sinensis 'that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process', the oxidation halted by the quick application of heat after picking, with steam preferred in Japan and dry roasting in hot pans in China. Steeping generally uses 2 g per 100 mL, temperatures range from 61 C (142 F) to 87 C (189 F), times 30 seconds to three minutes; lower-quality greens are steeped hotter and longer, higher-quality cooler and shorter, usually multiple times (2-3 typically).
Green tea
Green tea is the leaf caught early. Picked, then heated at once: steamed in Japan, tossed in a hot pan in China. With the enzymes killed, no oxidation, and the cup tastes of it, grassy, nutty, sweet.
It asks for respect in return: water at 61 to 87 C, only 30 seconds to 3 minutes, about 2 g per 100 mL. The better the leaf, the cooler and shorter, and often two or three steepings.
Scalded greens turn bitter fast. The numbers above are the whole defense.
Brew one green tea at 70 C for two minutes this week, then again boiling, and taste what heat alone does.
Per the Wikipedia article Green tea, steeping temperatures range from 61 C (142 F) to 87 C (189 F), with the ideal for ujeon, a Korean first-flush green, at 50 C (122 F). Per the Wikipedia article Oolong, recommended water is 80-95 C (180-205 F). Per the Wikipedia article Black tea, black tea 'should be steeped in water brought up to 90-98 C (194-208 F) for 3-5 min.' Per the Wikipedia article Pu'er tea, ripe pu'er is brewed at boiling, maximum 5 minutes.
Water temperature
Temperature is the first dial, and each family has a band. Greens: 61 to 87 C, 142 to 189 F. Oolongs: 80 to 95 C, 176 to 205 F. Blacks: 90 to 98 C, 194 to 208 F. Ripe pu-erh: a full boil, 212 F.
One outlier proves the rule: a prized Korean first-flush green lists its ideal at 50 C. The gentler the leaf, the cooler the water.
Why: heat strips tannins out of the leaf, and unoxidized leaf has the most to lose. The band is respect, not ritual.
Boil the kettle once tonight, pour a little on a green and the rest on a black, and taste the bands apart.
Per the Wikipedia article Black tea, one uses 0.08 ounces (2.26 g) of tea per 8 US fl oz (237 mL) of water, steeped at 90-98 C for 3-5 minutes; a cold vessel lowers the steep temperature, so 'the brewing vessel is rinsed with water at a temperature of at least 90 C (194 F) before brewing.' Per the Wikipedia article Green tea, greens use about 2 g per 100 mL. Per the Wikipedia article Tea, traditional tea is steeped as loose leaves in hot water in a teapot or teacup for a period of time.
Western brewing
The western way is the one you already own. Warm the pot first: a cold vessel lowers the steep temperature, so swirl water of at least 90 C around it and out.
Then the numbers: 2.26 g of leaf per 237 mL, about a heaped spoon a cup, water near a boil, 3 to 5 minutes, and the leaf out of the liquor when the clock says so.
That last move matters most. A steep left sitting on its leaf walks straight into page twelve.
Brew one pot tonight with the numbers, timer on, leaf separated, and compare it to your usual guesswork.
Per the Wikipedia article Tea, the four biggest producers, China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, represent 81% of world production; Darjeeling is available as first flush (at a premium price), second flush, monsoon and autumn, and Assam second flush 'tippy' tea is prized. Per the Wikipedia article Black tea, the best whole-leaf grades are graded orange pekoe, a size scale. Per the Wikipedia article Pu'er tea, 'it has long been standard practice to label all types of pu'er with the year and region of production', because it can be aged.
Read the label
Four things on a tea label are worth finding. Origin: China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka grow 81 percent of the world's tea, and each place has a style. Flush: the picking round; Darjeeling's first flush sells at a premium.
Grade: the leaf size scale, orange pekoe at the top. Date: pu-erh carries its year and region because it ages.
What no label says: how the tea was kept, or whether you will like it. Those stay your job.
Read one label end to end at the shop this week and name its origin, flush, grade and date, or note which are missing.
This book's plan: the recap pot, five moves in order. The moves are sourced: per the Wikipedia article Black tea, rinse the vessel with water of at least 90 C because a cold vessel lowers the steep temperature, and steep 2.26 g per 237 mL at 90-98 C for 3-5 minutes; per the Wikipedia article Green tea, greens take 2 g per 100 mL at 61-87 C for 30 seconds to 3 minutes; per the Wikipedia article Green tea, over-long or too-hot steeping releases excessive tannins, which is why the leaf is separated at the clock.
A first proper pot
Here is the whole course as one pot, honestly labeled this book's plan. Warm the pot with a hot rinse, because a cold pot steals heat from the steep.
Measure the leaf, about 2 g per 100 mL for green or 2.26 g per 237 mL for black. Water rested into the family's band. Time the steep, 3 to 5 minutes for black. Then separate the leaf so the clock stops.
No gear beyond a pot, a spoon and a timer. This is the cup every later habit grows from.
Brew the five-move pot this week with any tea you own, and note one thing the attention changed.