Steep Time & Temperature Calculator
Pick a tea type and get a water-temperature and steep-time range, capped for your elevation so it never calls for water hotter than it can actually boil.
Recommended steep
Why temperature and time matter
Tea leaf releases its compounds at different rates depending on temperature: catechins and tannins (the bitter, astringent side of tea) extract faster in hot water, while the sweeter and more delicate aromatics release more gently. Minimally processed teas — white, green, and yellow — hold on to more of those delicate compounds and go bitter quickly in water that’s too hot, so a cooler steep protects them. Black tea and pu-erh have already been fully oxidized or fermented, which breaks down a lot of that bitterness-prone material, so they hold up to a full boil.
Elevation changes the ceiling on what “boiling” even means: at lower air pressure, water boils before it reaches 100°C. If you brew at altitude, the temperature this tool suggests is capped at your local boiling point — you can’t brew hotter than your kettle can actually get.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does green tea use cooler water than black tea?
Green, white, and yellow teas are minimally oxidized and keep more of the tender compounds that turn bitter and astringent when scalded — brewing them cooler (roughly 70–80°C) draws out sweetness and aroma without the harshness. Fully oxidized black tea and post-fermented pu-erh are more forgiving of near-boiling water and often need it to open up fully.
Why does elevation matter for steeping?
Water boils at a lower temperature as atmospheric pressure drops with elevation — roughly 1°C cooler for every 300m of elevation gain. At 1,500m, water tops out around 95°C instead of 100°C, so a recommendation calling for a full boil is automatically capped at whatever your kettle can actually reach.
Is longer steeping always stronger?
Up to a point. Most of a tea's flavor and caffeine extracts in the first few minutes; steeping well past the recommended window mostly adds bitterness and astringency from tannins rather than more of the flavors you want. The ranges here are a starting point — adjust by a few seconds or degrees to match your own taste and leaf grade.
Does this apply to tea bags too?
The temperature guidance applies either way. Bagged tea is often cut finer than loose leaf, which speeds up extraction, so many drinkers steep bags toward the shorter end of the range shown here.
Brewing guide only, not medical or health advice. Ranges are a starting point — leaf grade, water, and personal taste all shift the ideal steep.