Black / red

How to brew Darjeeling and Nepal (later flushes)

Second flush, autumnal, Nepal.

More oxidized than first flush, with muscatel depth that likes hotter water, but still short of a full boil.

Starting recipe

Setting	Western (mug or teapot)	Gongfu (small pot or gaiwan)
Temperature	190–205°F (88–96°C)	190–205°F (88–96°C)
Leaf	0.8–1.6 g per 100 ml	3–5 g per 100 ml
Steepdial starts at	198°F (92°C) · 2.5 g · 250 ml	194°F (90°C) · 4 g · 100 ml
First steep	2:30–5:00	0:08–0:25
A whole session	3:30 · 4:30	0:12 · 0:12 · 0:18 · 0:25 · 0:35 · 0:50

The details

Rinse

Not needed. Start with the first steep.

Drinking window

Keeps well: at its best for about 12 months once opened.

Caffeine

Contains caffeine. How much depends on the leaf, the water temperature and the steep time; the style alone is a poor guide.

Iced and cold brew

Cold brew: 1 g per 100 ml of cold water, in the fridge for about 10 hours. Keep it cold and drink it within a day or two. For iced tea now, brew a concentrated hot cup (the same leaf in half the water) and pour it over an equal weight of ice; Steepdial accounts for the ice in the total water.

How Steepdial adjusts

After a session you tap what you'd change: more flavor, less bitter, less drying. Steepdial changes one thing at a time, staying near the ranges above, and remembers what worked for that tea.

Short steeps and pour time

The first gongfu steep is 0:12. If your pot takes several seconds to empty, start pouring a little early, or turn on the pour cue in Steepdial.

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