About the Tea Steeping Timer
This tea steeping timer gives you the right brewing time and water temperature for the tea in your cup, then counts it down and chimes when it is ready. Choose black, Chinese green, Japanese sencha, white, oolong, pu-erh, herbal or rooibos, pick how strong you like it, and enter how much water you are using to see how much loose leaf to measure.
Getting time and temperature right matters more than the price of the tea. Delicate green and white teas turn bitter and grassy in boiling water and are best brewed at 160–185°F (70–85°C); black teas, pu-erh and herbal infusions need water at or near a full boil to extract flavor. Over-steeping draws out tannins and bitterness, while under-steeping tastes thin.
The times and temperatures are typical Western-style recommendations (one cup of about 240 ml or 8 fl oz per 2–3 g of leaf) used by tea merchants, not strict rules — every tea differs, so taste and adjust by 30 seconds. For gongfu-style brewing with lots of leaf in a small pot, use much shorter steeps of 10–30 seconds and re-infuse several times.
With the default inputs, the steep for is 4m. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the tea steeping timer
- 1Choose your tea and how strong you like it.
- 2Enter how much water you are brewing with and measure the leaf shown.
- 3Heat the water to the temperature shown.
- 4Pour over the leaves and press Start.
- 5Remove the leaves or tea bag as soon as the timer chimes.
Formula and method
Each tea type has a recommended steeping window and water-temperature range drawn from common Western brewing guidance. Light strength uses the shortest time in the window, strong uses the longest and medium sits halfway, rounded to the nearest 15 seconds so the timer is easy to follow. The target temperature shown is the middle of the recommended range.
Leaf quantity scales linearly from a per-cup amount (2–3 g per 240 ml, depending on how bulky the leaf is) to the water volume you enter. Brewing with more leaf in less water — as in gongfu style — calls for much shorter steeps than these.
- strength
- 0 for light, 0.5 for medium, 1 for strong
- grams per cup
- Typical leaf weight per 240 ml of water for the tea type
Worked examples
A mug of black tea, medium strength
Black tea steeps 3–5 minutes; medium strength sits in the middle at 4 minutes, using water at 200–212°F and about 2.5 g of leaf for 240 ml.
A pot of light Chinese green tea
Green tea steeps 2–3 minutes at 160–180°F; a light brew takes 2 minutes. For 500 ml use 2.5 × 500 ÷ 240 ≈ 5.2 g of leaf.
Strong sencha in a small cup
Sencha is brewed short and cool: 1–2 minutes at 160–175°F. A strong cup takes the full 2 minutes, with 3 × 120 ÷ 240 = 1.5 g of leaf.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I steep black tea?+
Three to five minutes in water at or just off the boil (200–212°F, 93–100°C). Three minutes gives a brisk, lighter cup; five minutes a strong brew that stands up to milk. Longer mostly adds bitterness.
What temperature should water be for green tea?+
About 160–180°F (70–80°C) for Chinese green teas and slightly cooler, 160–175°F, for Japanese sencha. Boiling water scorches the leaves and releases bitter compounds, so let the kettle cool for a few minutes.
Can you over-steep tea?+
Yes. Leaving true tea (black, green, white, oolong) too long extracts excess tannins, making it bitter and astringent. Herbal and rooibos infusions are more forgiving and can steep 5–7 minutes or longer.
How much loose leaf tea per cup?+
Roughly 2–3 g per 240 ml (8 fl oz) cup — about one level teaspoon of a dense, rolled or cut leaf, or one to two heaped teaspoons of a large, fluffy leaf such as white tea.
Can I re-steep tea leaves?+
Good loose-leaf oolong, pu-erh and green teas can be re-steeped two to five times; add 30–60 seconds to each subsequent infusion. Tea bags and black teas usually give one good cup.