Tea Steeping Calculator
Find leaf quantity, water temperature and steeping time by tea type.
About Tea Steeping Calculator
Delicate teas extract bitter catechins above about 80 Celsius, which is why temperature matters more than time for green and white tea. Each subsequent infusion needs longer as the leaf depletes. Using boiling water for green tea is the single most common brewing error and produces astringency that no adjustment of time can fix.
Formula
Tea Steeping
Leaf = water ÷ 100 × leaf per 100 mL × strength factor; time lengthens with each infusion
- green tea temperature
- Around 75 Celsius, since boiling water extracts bitter compounds
- later infusions
- Need progressively longer as soluble compounds deplete
Worked example
With the default values below, Tea Steeping Calculator returns Leaf Required of 3.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Water volumeminimum 0 mL
- 300 mL
- Tea typeone of Green, Black, White, Oolong, Herbal, Pu-erh
- Green
- Strength preferenceone of Light, Standard, Strong
- Standard
- Infusion numberaccepts 1–6
- 1
Results
- Leaf Required
- 3.00 g
- Water Temperature
- 75 C
- Steeping Time
- 2.00 min
- Steeping Time
- 120 s
- Guidance
- Use water just off the boil for oxidised teas and cooler for delicate ones
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Tea Steeping
- 3Leaf Required= 3.00 g
- 4Water Temperature= 75 C
- 5Steeping Time= 2.00 min
- 6Steeping Time= 120 s
- 7Guidance= Use water just off the boil for oxidised teas and cooler for delicate ones
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Tea Steeping calculated?
Leaf = water ÷ 100 × leaf per 100 mL × strength factor; time lengthens with each infusion Delicate teas extract bitter catechins above about 80 Celsius, which is why temperature matters more than time for green and white tea. Each subsequent infusion needs longer as the leaf depletes.
Why does Tea Steeping matter?
Using boiling water for green tea is the single most common brewing error and produces astringency that no adjustment of time can fix.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Water volume, Tea type, Strength preference, Infusion number. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.