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I currently use 4 grams (weighed) loose leaf tea per cup.
I have the water nuked for 3m 45s; just starting to bubble, about 190~195° F, for both green and black tea.
I realize that may be a little on the cool side for black tea, so I steep the black a little longer.
I steep my green tea for no less than 5 or 6 minutes. Black tea no less than 10 minutes. (I like my tea on the strong side.)

I get one cup per 4 grams tea. I have tried steeping twice for a second cup, but it is too weak, IMHO.

Question:
If I up to 8 grams tea, and cut the steep time in half:
(a) Would the tea be as "strong" as my current brew?
(b) Would I be able to get a second or even a third cup without fresh leaves?
I suppose two cups would not make a difference in how much tea I use for two cups, but it would save the time spent weighing the tea for the second cup?

how much volume does your cup hold?

you can totally use two teacups/mugs for gongfu-style brewing:

pedant wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 02, 2020 1:36 am

my very first tea tools were mugs.
i'd use two of them at a time: one acted as a tea pot, and i'd simply decant into a second one used for drinking. sometimes i'd use a spoon as a strainer. this mostly works fine, and it's all anyone really needs tbh. or is it??

you could put 4, 5, or 8 grams into a mug, brew it for less time (incomplete extraction), and repeat to your satisfaction. i used to do that all the time and still do it when i'm traveling.

i wonder if filling an insulated thermos with microwaved water would help you at all. you could sort of have hot water on demand that way without having to ask someone.

Time is not a substitute for temperature which is not a substitute for amount of leaf (and vice versa). That is, you can't really compensate for a lower temperature by brewing longer, since what gets extracted and how quickly is largely dependent on how hot the water is. And adding more leaf, but steeping for less time will also never give the same result.

A good analogy is the exposure triangle in photography, where you balance aperture, shutter speed and ISO to achieve the exposure you want. Here, if you open the aperture by 1 stop and compensate by setting the shutter 1 stop faster, you will get an equivalent amount of light on the sensor/film - that is, an equivalent exposure - but the details in the photo will be different - in this case a blurrier background, but less motion blur.

The brewing triangle (TM) works similarly. You can achieve an equivalent extraction by adjusting the temperature, time and amount, but the taste will not be the same.

That's it for the theory, now for some practical advice:

1. Get an electrical kettle with temp control. So much better than a microwave.
2. Depending on the kind of tea you drink (Chinese works best), consider grandpa-style brewing. Simply put some tea in the cup, fill with boiling water, drink half then top up with water - repeat until too weak.