How to Brew Loose Leaf Tea Without a Gaiwan: Mug, Teapot, Glass and More

You don't need a gaiwan to brew loose leaf tea well. The simplest method: put about 2–3 g of leaf (a heaped teaspoon) in a large basket infuser in a 250–300 ml mug, pour water at the right temperature for the tea, steep 1.5–3 minutes, lift the infuser out, and re-steep the same leaves once or twice. The two things that matter most are water temperature (cooler for green tea, hotter for oolong, red tea and pu-erh) and giving the leaves room to open. A teapot, a glass, a French press or a thermos all work too.

I'll be honest: I brew gongfu at home, but most of my tea during the week doesn't happen at my tea table. It happens in a big mug at my desk, in a glass on a train, in a thermos on a hike up Velika planina. For years I thought of that as "not real tea". It is. With the right amounts and temperatures, a mug of good oolong can be excellent. Here's how I brew without a gaiwan.

The Western brewing chart#

For a 250–300 ml mug or small teapot. Adjust to taste.

For comparison, gongfu uses much more leaf for much less water and seconds-long steeps. See gongfu vs Western and the full gongfu brewing chart.

Method 1: a mug and a basket infuser (my everyday method)#

The best all-rounder.

1. Choose a large basket infuser that sits deep in the mug and lets the leaves expand. Tiny tea balls cramp whole leaves and give weak, uneven tea.
2. Warm the mug with a splash of hot water.
3. Add 2–3 g of leaf.
4. Pour water at the right temperature over the leaves.
5. Steep, then lift the infuser out and rest it on a saucer.
6. Re-steep later with fresh hot water.

Method 2: a Western teapot#

Good for two or more people. Use a teapot with a built-in strainer or a large removable basket.

• Scale the leaf to the pot: about 2–3 g per 250 ml.
• Pour all the tea out once it's ready, into cups or a second pot. Tea left standing on the leaves keeps extracting and turns bitter.
• Re-steep the leaves in the pot.

Method 3: a glass (grandpa style)#

The way many people drink tea all day in China: a small pinch of leaf in a tall glass, topped up with hot water whenever it's about a third full. No strainer, no timer. The secret is using very little leaf, about 2–3 g for a 300 ml glass, and teas that stay pleasant with long contact: green tea (at the right temperature), white tea, roasted oolong. Full guide: grandpa style.

A glass is also the loveliest way to brew bud teas like Silver Needle or Tai Ping Hou Kui: you can watch the leaves stand up and dance.

Method 4: a French press#

Works well for oolong, red tea and shou pu-erh.

• Use the same amounts as a teapot.
• Steep, then press and pour all the tea out immediately. Leaving it on the pressed leaves makes it bitter.
• Keep a separate press for tea if you also make coffee: coffee oils linger.

Method 5: a thermos#

For hikes and long days. Leaves steep for hours in a thermos, so choose sturdy teas and use little leaf.

• Best teas: shou pu-erh, dark tea, aged white tea, roasted oolong.
• Avoid: green tea and delicate white buds, which stew into bitterness.
• Amount: a small pinch, about 2–3 g for 500 ml.
• Better still: a thermos with a removable strainer, so you can lift the leaves out.

Method 6: a travel tumbler#

Tumblers with a built-in strainer or a leaf compartment are the easiest way to brew at the office or on the road. Some separate tea from leaves at the flip of a lid, which is ideal. For gongfu on the road, a small travel gaiwan set is lighter and more robust than a clay teapot.

Method 7: cold brew#

No hot water at all: about 2 teaspoons of leaf per litre of cold water, 8–12 hours in the fridge, then strain. Sweet and almost never bitter. Best with oolong, white and red tea. See cold brew tea.

Method 8: simmering#

An old method for shou pu-erh, dark teas and aged white tea. Bring water to a boil in a small pot, add the leaf, simmer briefly, strain. It gives a thick, sweet, warming tea, and it's a wonderful way to finish spent leaves after a gongfu session. Simmering pulls more out of the leaf than any other method, including more of whatever the leaf carries, so keep it for clean, well-sourced tea, rinse the leaf first and don't make it a daily habit.

No infuser at all?#

• Brew in one cup, pour through a small kitchen sieve into another.
• Use a jug and a sieve for several cups.
• Let the leaves settle, then pour gently: big-leaf oolongs and white tea sink quickly.
• Grandpa style needs no strainer at all.

My side-by-side: the same oolong, three ways#

A Taiwanese high mountain oolong, same afternoon.

The gaiwan won on depth. The mug won on ease. The glass won on pleasure per minute of effort.

Common mistakes#

• Boiling water on green tea. It turns bitter: see why green tea is bitter.
• Too little leaf or water too cool for oolong and pu-erh. Thin and sour: see why tea tastes sour, flat or weak.
• Tiny tea balls. The leaves can't open.
• Leaving the leaves in. Take them out, or use very little leaf grandpa style.
• Throwing leaves away after one steep. Good leaf has one or two more cups in it.

Myths#

"Real tea needs a gaiwan or Yixing pot." Gongfu teaware brings out more, but a mug brews very good tea.

"Loose leaf is too fiddly for work." A basket infuser takes ten seconds longer than a bag.

"Longer steeps make better tea." They make stronger tea, and past a point, worse tea.

My honest take#

Don't wait until you own the "right" teaware. Buy a big basket infuser, weigh your leaf once so you know what 3 g looks like, and learn the temperature for your favourite tea. That's 90% of the result. The gaiwan can come later, when you want the other 10%.

The bottom line#

To brew loose leaf tea without a gaiwan, use about 2–3 g per 250–300 ml, the right water temperature for the tea, 1.5–3 minutes, then remove the leaves and re-steep. A mug with a basket infuser is the easiest start; a glass, teapot, French press, thermos or cold brew each has its place. When you're ready for more, try gongfu brewing.