Pick your tea and the timer loads the right water temperature, leaf amount and steep time, then rings when your cup is ready. Re-steep the same leaves with longer times for each infusion, in Western or gongfu style.
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How to use the Tea Steeping Timer
Choose a brewing style: Western for a mug or teapot, gongfu for a small pot with lots of leaf and short steeps.
Pick your tea: tap Green, Black, Oolong, Herbal, White, Pu-erh or Rooibos to load its water temperature, leaf amount and steep time.
Heat the water to the temperature shown, add the leaves and pour.
Press Start steeping. When the chime sounds, pour off or remove the leaves.
Re-steep: press Next infusion to load the longer time for the following cup, then Start again. Change the time or the seconds added per steep to suit your taste.
Tea steeping chart
These are the starting points the timer uses. Teas differ by garden, harvest and cut, so treat them as a guide: if a cup is bitter, shorten the time or cool the water; if it is weak, add leaf before adding time.
Tea
Water temperature
Western steep
Gongfu first steep
Typical re-steeps
Green
170–180 °F (77–82 °C)
1–3 min
20–45 s
2–3 western, 4–5 gongfu
White
175–185 °F (80–85 °C)
2–5 min
20–40 s
2–3 western, 5–6 gongfu
Oolong
185–205 °F (85–96 °C)
2–5 min
15–30 s
3+ western, 6–8 gongfu
Black
200–212 °F (93–100 °C)
3–5 min
10–20 s
1–2 western, 5–6 gongfu
Pu-erh
205–212 °F (96–100 °C)
3–5 min
10–20 s
3+ western, 8–10 gongfu
Herbal (chamomile, mint, hibiscus)
Full boil
5–7 min
2–4 min
1–2
Rooibos
Full boil
5–8 min
1–3 min
1–2
Water boils at about 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level and at lower temperatures at altitude. No thermometer? After the kettle boils, water left to stand with the lid open cools gradually; a few minutes is usually enough to bring it into the green-tea range.
Tips for a better cup
Measure the leaf. About 2–3 g (roughly a teaspoon of small leaf, more for fluffy white tea) per 8 oz / 240 ml cup for Western brewing. Too little leaf with a long steep tastes flat and bitter at the same time.
Warm the pot or cup. A splash of hot water swirled and poured out keeps the brewing temperature steady.
Remove the leaves on time. Leaves left in the water keep extracting. Use an infuser basket or pour everything into a second pot when the alarm rings.
Re-steeps get longer. Each infusion pulls less from the leaves, so the timer adds a set number of seconds each time (30 to 120 s Western, 5 to 10 s gongfu). Change "Add per re-steep" to your liking.
Use fresh, good-tasting water. Filtered water often makes a cleaner cup than very hard or heavily chlorinated tap water.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I steep green tea?
Most green teas steep best for 1 to 3 minutes in water around 170 to 180 °F (77 to 82 °C). The timer starts at 2 minutes. Water that is too hot or a steep that is too long brings out bitterness, so shorten the time if your cup tastes harsh.
How long do you steep black tea?
Black tea is usually steeped 3 to 5 minutes in water from about 200 °F to a full boil (93 to 100 °C). The preset is 4 minutes. Go toward 3 minutes for a lighter cup, or 5 minutes if you add milk.
What water temperature is best for each tea?
As a general guide: green 170–180 °F, white 175–185 °F, oolong 185–205 °F, black 200–212 °F, pu-erh 205–212 °F and herbal or rooibos at a full boil (about 212 °F at sea level). Use the °F/°C switch to see each range in your unit.
Can I steep the same tea leaves more than once?
Yes. Good loose-leaf green, white, oolong and pu-erh teas can be re-steeped several times. Each infusion needs a bit longer because the leaves have already given up some flavor; the timer adds that extra time automatically. Black and herbal teas usually give one or two good cups.
What is gongfu-style brewing?
Gongfu brewing uses a small teapot or gaiwan with a high ratio of leaf to water (about 5 to 7 g per 100 ml) and very short steeps, often 10 to 30 seconds, repeated many times. It is popular for oolong and pu-erh. Choose the Gongfu tab to load those shorter times.
Will the alarm ring if I switch tabs?
Yes. The timer counts down from a fixed end time, so it stays accurate in the background, and the chime plays when it finishes as long as the page stays open. The remaining time is also shown in the tab title. Some phones pause pages when the screen locks, so keep the screen on for short steeps.
Does steeping tea longer add more caffeine?
Longer steeps and hotter water generally extract more caffeine as well as more flavor and bitterness. Caffeine content still depends mostly on the tea itself and how much leaf you use, and herbal teas such as chamomile and rooibos are naturally caffeine-free.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.