Why we steep slowly

Tea, like a letter, asks for time. We measure it not in minutes but in the way steam quiets and the leaves unfurl.

“A kettle is a clock you cannot rush. Here is what the slow steep gives back.”

Slow steeping draws out the rounder notes — the cocoa beneath an oolong, the apricot inside a first-flush Darjeeling. Hurried water bruises the leaf and brings only the bitter edges.

Our suggestion: start the kettle, set it down, and write one sentence to a friend. By the time you finish, the cup will be ready.