How Many Times Can You Steep Pu-erh Tea?

Good pu-erh brewed gongfu style gives about 8–15 infusions. Brewed Western style in a mug or teapot, the same leaves give 3–4 cups. The exact number depends on the tea, how much leaf you use and how long you steep, but those two ranges cover most sessions. Below is a simple guide by tea type, a timing schedule that gets the most from your leaves, and how to tell when a session is done.

The short answer by tea type

Old-arbor leaf that is plump and sturdy usually sits at the top of these ranges. Broken leaf, small pieces and tea dust give up their flavor sooner. Use water just off the boil (100°C / 212°F) for every infusion, raw and ripe alike.

Why gongfu gives more infusions

Gongfu brewing uses more leaf, less water and very short steeps. Each infusion draws out only a little of what the leaf holds, so the tea keeps going for many rounds and changes as it does. Western brewing uses less leaf and longer steeps. Each cup takes more out of the leaves, so they run out after three or four cups.

Neither is wrong. Gongfu lets you follow how the tea changes from cup to cup. Western is easier on a busy day. Our gongfu brewing guide walks through the full method.

How to stretch a session: a timing schedule

The trick is to start short and add time gradually. If the early steeps are too long, you use up the leaves quickly and the tea turns bitter.

Gongfu (about 5–7 g in a 100–120 ml gaiwan)

Pour off all the liquor at the end of each steep so the leaves aren't left sitting in water. If a cup tastes too bitter, shorten the next steep or use a little less leaf next time. Don't lower the water temperature.

Western (about 3–4 g per 250 ml)

Use a strainer or a pot with an infuser basket so you can lift the leaves out at the end of each steep.

How the cups change

• Young raw: the first few infusions carry the most aroma and some bitterness that turns into huigan (sweet aftertaste). The middle infusions are often the most balanced. Later ones turn light and sweet.
• Aged raw: the liquor is deeper in color, from orange-yellow toward orange-red. Expect a smooth, mellow cup with an aged aroma that holds steady over many steeps.
• Ripe: the liquor is red to deep red. It is thick and mellow early on, and becomes lighter and sweeter as the session goes on.

Not sure how to describe what you're tasting? See our tasting vocabulary.

When to stop

A session is done when even a long steep (several minutes in a gaiwan) gives a thin, watery liquor with little aroma or sweetness. Another sign is that the leaves have fully opened and look pale. There is no need to force extra steeps. A very long steep at the end of the session is a good way to get one last sweet cup.

Reusing the leaves later the same day

You don't have to drink a whole session in one sitting. If you stop partway:

• Pour off every drop of liquor so the leaves aren't left in water.
• Put the lid back on the gaiwan or teapot and leave it at room temperature.
• Pick up where you left off within the day. Make the next steep a little longer than the last one, since the leaves have cooled.
• Don't keep wet leaves overnight. Throw them out at the end of the day and start fresh.

Leaving the leaves sitting in water between steeps is one of the common brewing mistakes that makes later cups bitter and flat.

Ready to try a long session? Start with our raw pu-erh.

This article is general information about tea, not medical advice. If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a health condition, please talk to your doctor before changing what you drink.