How to brew Chinese tea in a mug

Already matched your packet? Use the six first-cup routes above. The steps below explain how to handle the basket, strainer or glass. Keep the tea amount, actual water, temperature, timing and leaf-handling action from the same method together.

Choose how you will separate the leaves

You can start without buying a full tea set. First identify the tea and check its directions. Then choose whether you will remove the leaves, pour the drink away from them, or leave them in the glass as you sip.

These are different operations. TeaSource describes basket removal and straining into a second vessel; the China National Tea Museum teaches a leaves-in-glass Longjing method. Neither gives us a universal recipe for every tea.

If the name is unfamiliar, begin with the gift guide. “Chinese tea” alone is not enough information to choose a temperature and time.

A mug with a removable basket

Use a clean mug and basket intended for hot drinks. Have a dish ready for the wet basket and the product’s directions for this way of brewing.

1. Measure the actual water you plan to add; the mug’s advertised capacity is not necessarily your fill level.
2. Put the stated amount of tea in the basket and set it in the mug.
3. Add water at the product’s specified temperature. Start timing when water contacts the leaves, unless its directions say otherwise.
4. At the stated time, lift the basket clear of the drink and place it on the dish. Let the drink cool enough to sip.
5. Decide whether the strength suits you before preparing another cup.

TeaSource’s own infuser instructions describe this sequence. Removing the basket gives you a defined end to that contact; it does not make a particular duration suitable for every tea.

What the finished step looks like: the wet basket is on the dish, clear of the drink. If its base still sits in the tea, you have not separated those leaves from the liquid. The basket-removal step is separate from waiting until the drink is cool enough to sip.

No basket? Use a strainer and second cup

If the product’s method calls for pouring off the infusion, brew in a suitable heat-safe vessel, then strain the finished drink into a second cup. TeaSource describes this alternative alongside basket brewing.

The strainer catches leaves during the pour. It does not stop leaves continuing to steep in liquid left in the first vessel. Transfer the drink you intend to serve rather than leaving a large remainder among the leaves.

What the finished step looks like: the drink is in the second cup; the leaves remain in the first vessel or strainer. Use a setup you can pour comfortably, following its handling instructions. If you cannot pour it safely, choose a suitable removable basket instead.

Leaves left in a glass

Our three existing glass proposals use a light dose, an uncovered heat-safe glass and leaves left in while drinking. They are editorial starting suggestions, awaiting hands-on testing.

For the matching loose-leaf tea, read the complete method:

• Longjing: glass method.
• Zhengshan Xiaozhong: glass method, scoped to reasonably intact loose leaves.
• Jasmine tea: glass method, scoped to loose, green-base jasmine tea.

Each specifies 2 g of the relevant tea and an actual 250 mL of water in a glass of at least 300 mL capacity, with its own temperature and first taste-check. That check is not a basket-removal time. The museum’s different Longjing lesson has different conditions; do not combine its dose with our table.

If you cannot match the tea or shape, ask the giver or supplier for a method. Do not apply these proposals to unknown blends, bags, pearls or compressed tea.

Three light glass starting points

All three rows use 2 g of loose tea, an actual 250 mL (about 8.5 US fl oz) of water, and an uncovered heat-safe glass of at least 300 mL capacity. Leaves stay in the drink. These are editorial proposals awaiting hands-on testing, not universal recipes. Follow your packet first.

The taste check is not the end of leaf contact. If it becomes too strong, transfer the drink away from the leaves and try diluting a small portion. Refill according to taste; roughly a third remaining is an editorial option, not a requirement. Before a long work interruption, separate the drink if you want to end contact.

Other vessels need their own instructions

A gaiwan or small teapot method needs its own dose, water amount, temperature, timing and full decant. A concentrated short-infusion recipe is not a leaves-in-glass recipe. Follow the maker’s handling instructions and use the teaware guide to decide what you actually need.

A thermos with leaves still inside continues that contact. If you want to end the steep, separate the drink first and follow the vessel’s directions; this page does not establish a safe holding time. Cold brewing and boiling tea also need their own suitable product instructions. Do not convert the table above into a cold-water or simmering recipe.

Keep one complete method together

Record the product, leaf amount, actual water amount, temperature, time and whether the leaves stayed in. For a basket or pour-off brew without supplied instructions, ask the supplier for those conditions instead of borrowing the glass timing.

If the first cup disappoints, use the one-change troubleshooting guide. Afterwards, follow the opened-packet storage guide.

Keep a note you can repeat

Copy this checklist beside your cup: tea name and form · vessel · dry tea amount · actual water amount · water temperature · time · basket removed / drink poured off / leaves left in · your impression. Fill it with what you actually used; it is a blank record, not a TeaPlain experiment.

If your scale or kettle cannot give the measurement, check the measurement guide. Do not fill the gap by assuming every teaspoon holds the same mass or every kettle cools at the same rate.

Editorial notes

Reviewed 17 October 2026. Vessel operations were checked against TeaSource’s own instructions and independent tea-preparation material. Research records are retained internally. The diagrams explain operations; they do not show an actual tea sample. The six numerical routes remain editorial starting points awaiting hands-on testing, not tested best recipes.