Set up the brew
Consider leaf tenderness, breakage, roast, compression, age and vessel heat retention. A large unheated glass cools quickly; a thick preheated pot keeps extracting at a higher temperature.
Method, step by step
Begin with a family baseline: 75-85°C for delicate green and yellow tea, 80-90°C for white tea and aromatic black tea, 90-100°C for many oolongs, dark teas and Pu'er. Taste, then move in five-degree steps.
How to adjust by taste
If aroma is weak and the cup thin, raise temperature before extending time greatly. If the tea is fragrant but sharp, lower temperature or shorten contact. Good leaf should not require one sacred number.
Practical guidance
Test one tea at 80, 90 and 100°C using identical leaf ratio and time. The side-by-side result teaches more than memorizing a chart.
Identification and caution
Boiling point changes with altitude, and kettle displays may be inaccurate. Treat exact temperatures as repeatable working references, not absolute truth.