Western brewing — one big mug, one short steep, leaves discarded — wastes most of what's in a high-quality leaf. Eastern brewing uses a smaller vessel, more leaf, and many short steeps. The same 5g of tea can produce six cups instead of one.
The rule of thumb: high-quality whole-leaf tea reinfuses well. Broken-leaf, fannings, and most herbals don't. Specifically: oolongs and pu-erhs reinfuse 5–8 times; white and green teas 2–3 times; black teas 2 times; herbals once and done.
How to do it at home: use a glass teapot with a removable infuser. First steep ~3 minutes. Pour off the liquor completely. Second steep — same leaf, same hot water — for 1 minute longer. Third steep — 1 more minute longer than that. The leaf gets sweeter and the body gets thinner with each subsequent infusion. Stop when it tastes like nothing.
Two specific picks: our Yunnan Golden Tips reinfuses four times beautifully — the third steep is honey-sweet and almost dessert-like. Our Jasmine Silver Needle reinfuses three times, and the second is when the jasmine actually peaks.
