Brewing tea well comes down to two variables: water temperature and steeping time — and both change depending on which type of tea you're working with. Get them right, and you'll taste a tea's full character; get them wrong, and even excellent leaves can turn bitter, flat, or thin.
Delicate Teas Need Gentler Water
Green tea and white tea are the most sensitive to heat. Brew green tea at 175–185°F (80–85°C) for 2–3 minutes, and white tea slightly cooler, 160–175°F (70–80°C), for 4–5 minutes. Water straight off a rolling boil will scorch both, pulling out bitterness instead of their natural sweetness.
Full-Bodied Teas Can Handle the Heat
Black tea and most herbal infusions are far more forgiving. Steep black tea at 200–212°F (93–100°C) for 3–5 minutes — longer for bold blends like Assam, shorter for delicate styles like Darjeeling. Herbal blends can go the full 5–7 minutes at the same near-boiling temperature, since without tea leaves there's no tannin bitterness to worry about.
Oolong, Pu-erh, and Flower Tea: Somewhere in Between
Oolong brews well at 185–205°F (85–96°C) for 3–5 minutes, and rewards a quick 5-second rinse to wake up tightly rolled leaves before the first real steep. Pu-erh prefers near-boiling water too, with ripe (shou) styles needing 3–4 minutes and raw (sheng) styles 4–5 minutes — always after a short rinse. Flower tea is gentler, best at 185–195°F (85–90°C) for 3–5 minutes; boiling water can mute its floral sweetness.
None of these numbers are strict rules — they're starting points. If a tea tastes thin, try more leaf before reaching for hotter water. If it tastes bitter, pull back on time before you blame the tea itself.