Gongfu or western tea? How the leaf-to-water ratio sets the steep, with a planner

Tea does not have one right way. A mug uses little leaf and a long steep. Gongfu brewing uses many times more leaf in a small vessel and pours it off after seconds, so the same leaves give you several different cups.

This piece explains the one number that sets the two styles apart, why short steeps taste brighter, and how steeps change from the first cup to the last. A steep planner turns a tea, a vessel size and a style into a leaf dose, a water temperature and a time for every infusion.