If gongfu-cha is a road trip where you enjoy a long journey and stop to see all of the roadside attractions, western brewing is taking a nonstop flight to your final destination. There is no right or wrong way–both ways will get you to your final destination, but you will have different experiences. Similarly, there is no right or wrong way to enjoy tea. There is an appropriate time for each method of brewing, as well as appropriate teas that are better suited to one method over another.
The western style brew involves less leaf with more water steeped for a long period of time. This is the more common way that most people brew tea. Put a few teaspoons in a teapot, add 12oz of water, wait a few minutes, and tea is ready. Almost every morning involves a big mug of western style black tea to get me going in the morning. It is quick, I can do other things while the tea is brewing, and in the end, I have a strong cup of tea that will definitely wake me up. While working, I always brew tea western style because it’s easy, doesn’t make a mess, and doesn’t require much focus. I then have a good mug of tea that I can sip on while working.
Western brewing brings out a combination of all of the flavors of the leaf and combines them into one cup. A session of gongfu-cha, by comparison, changes with each steep. This means that Western style brewings can make for a bold cup of tea! Sometimes I want to drink a black tea that is strong, especially on a cold day.
Some teas are much better suited to a Western brew as well. Indian teas, especially Darjeelings I find are much more interesting when brewed Western. I find the muscatel and honey flavors work better in the same cup. Flavored teas like Earl Grey also taste much better when brewed Western Style. Tisanes like rooibos or mint teas are not even practical to brew gongfu, and they need a long infusion to release their flavor.
The Western brew is comforting, simple, and quick. It takes everything a tea has to give and puts it in one mug. Usually you can re-infuse a Western brew one or two extra times, but nowhere near as many as Gongfu. There are teas I wouldn’t think to brew Western like Sheng Puerh or Yancha. For part 2 of this post, I’ll be talking more in depth about gongfu-cha.
You make a very good point James. I wholeheartedly agree about tisanes and I’d go one further with medicinal herbal teas. They require boiling water and a good 10 minute steep to extract all the phytochemicals and can also benefit from a lid during steeping to keep all the volatile oils in the tea. I will eagerly await Part 2.
Thank you so much for this post.
I have been drinking tea for 2-3 years now always gongfu style. Oddly, enough I have just recently started seeing “western style” more and more often, but had never heard of it before these past couple of months.
This post really put into perspective why darjeeling and rooibos were so unenjoyable with the gongfu style that I have consistently practice.
Also, this post helped me to understand teapots with extremely shallow baskets in comparison to the actual vessel that are so common here in the us. I originally assumed that these were horribly constructed (as I am used to having some some form of strainer at the base of the spout) when in fact these were probably made for western style brewing.
Hi Jesse,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Teaware can have a huge influence on the flavor of tea, some hold temperature better than others, the shape and materials can make a world of a difference too.
Thank you for sharing how Western Style plays a great rule on brewing teas. I am now for the Part 2.
Now I know how exactly Western Style goes with brewing teas. Looking forward for the part 2.