It seems to me that you guys have a pretty good grasp on the process. I just wanted to add a couple of points.
First, the infusion time is determined primarily by the tea/water proportion. The extreme in China is the Chaozhou Kungfu process that uses the most tea in relationship to water, and the shortest infusion time. They like there tea strong and often. It doesn't bother them too much that the first couple of infusions are light, you hair will be standing on end soon enough. (Which I like.) The other extreme is the English method where a small about of tea is thrown in a big pot, with a lot of water, and infused a long time.
Second, and perhaps the most imortant, is that what is a good cup for one may not be for another. It is clear that you guys understand this, but I feel that it is important to say again. This is so true with both tea and wine. Because everyone's chemistry is different, everyone's experience is going to be different. I think that a large part of the fun is playing around and experimenting. This is exactly what tea masters do. I heard from masters that I really respect, that we should let the tea teach us whatever we need to know about that tea. In other words, we ought to approach a tea as a student, and the questions we have should be directed to the tea, keeping in mind that the lessons are for us personally. I think this is the guideline, that if we follow, will always lead us in the right direction.
Austin
