Preparation of Utensils  

Main brewing vessels：Purple clay teapots with good air permeability (suitable for aged tea or teas needing aroma concentration) or open-mouthed covered bowls (easy to observe tea color and control infusion time, recommended for beginners).

Fair cup：Glass is preferred for easy observation of tea color.

Tasting cups：Small porcelain or pottery cups, good for aroma retention.

Auxiliary tools：Tea needle (for prying pressed tea), tea scoop, tea cloth, etc.

Tea Leaves and Water

Tea leaves：Loose tea can be used directly. Compressed tea (cakes, bricks, tuocha) needs to be pried loose in advance and "awakened" for 1-3 months (in a ventilated, light-proof, and odor-free environment).

Water：Qualified purified water is sufficient; never use alkaline mineral water.

(Commercially available mineral waters and mountain spring waters vary in water quality due to different sources; so-called "high-quality mineral water" will likely cause loss of functional components in tea and inhibit its aroma.)

Tea dosage：Use 5-8g of tea for a 100-150ml container (tea-to-water ratio of approximately 1:20; adjust strength to personal taste). 

Steps

1.Warm and clean the utensils
Rinse all utensils with boiling water to raise their temperature, helping to release the tea's aroma.

2.Formal brewing
Infusions 1-3：
Pour boiling water from a height(When pouring, slightly lift the kettle to let the water flow hit the tea leaves and release the tea's aroma).
The infusion time is 5-10 seconds; drain the tea soup quickly to avoid excessive leaching of bitter and astringent substances. (For new tea with obvious bitterness, shorten the time to within 5 seconds; for aged tea, extend it to 10 seconds.)

Infusions 4-7：
Pour water at a medium height (gentle circular flow to keep tea evenly heated);
infusion time: 10-15 seconds. Adjust based on taste—if the tea fades, steep for an extra 5 seconds.

After infusion 8：
Pour water at a low height (close to the bottom of the pot/bowl to reduce impact);
gradually extend steeping time (add 5-10 seconds each time). Aged tea can be steeped for 1-2 minutes until the flavor fades. 

Tasting

After pouring the tea into the fair cup, divide it evenly into tasting cups. Smell the aroma while it's hot (raw Pu'er often has floral, fruity, nectar-like, or wild mountain notes). Sip slowly to feel the bitterness, sweet aftertaste, salivation, and lingering throat sensation.