You select a tea type and number of cups. The tool looks up the recommended water temperature, steep-time range, and grams-per-cup ratio from a reference table of standard brewing guidelines. Water volume scales linearly at 240 mL per cup, and tea weight scales by the per-cup gram amount. It does not account for re-steeping or gongfu-style short infusions.
Yes — most oolong, green, white, and pu-erh teas can be steeped multiple times. Each infusion will taste slightly different. Add 30–60 seconds to each subsequent steep. Black and herbal teas generally do not re-steep well.
Hotter water extracts catechins and tannins more quickly, which causes bitterness. Delicate teas (green, white) have more of these compounds near the surface, so cooler water lets you extract flavor without harsh astringency. Robust teas (black, herbal) need the heat to release their full range of flavor compounds.
Loose-leaf tea generally produces a more nuanced flavor because the larger leaves have more surface area for controlled extraction. Tea bags work fine for convenience — just note that the finer cut inside bags steeps faster, so reduce your time by about 30 seconds compared to the loose-leaf recommendation.
Significantly. Hard water or heavily chlorinated tap water can mute flavors and add off-tastes. Filtered water or spring water with moderate mineral content (50–150 ppm TDS) generally produces the best results.
Estimate only. Results reflect your inputs and standard formulas. Double-check important decisions independently.