What gongfu brewing means
Gongfu cha（功夫茶）is a method rather than a ceremony, and it is practical.
It uses a high ratio of leaf to water and a series of short steeps.
The point is to taste the leaf change across a session rather than to make one cup.
A Western brew gives a single extraction, and gongfu gives six or more.
Each steep is a separate drink, and they are not the same drink.
The first opens the leaf, the middle ones are the peak, and the last ones fade.
Oolong suits this better than any other category, since the leaf is usually whole.
A ball rolled oolong unfurls over several steeps, and a strip one does not need to.
The method also forgives a heavy hand with the water temperature.
Because the steeps are short, hot water does not ruin the cup as quickly.
Anyone can do it with one gaiwan and a kettle, and nothing else is required.
The gear people associate with it is decoration rather than necessity.
Start with the leaf and the water, and the rest follows.
The setup
A 120 ml gaiwan（盖碗）is the standard vessel, and a small pot works too.
Use 7 to 8 g of leaf, which fills roughly a fifth of the vessel.
That ratio looks extreme next to a Western mug, and it is the whole point.
Water should be at a full boil for roasted oolong, and 90 °C for a light one.
A light, greener oolong is close to green tea and should be treated as one.
A dark roasted one such as yancha（岩茶）takes boiling water happily.
Rinse the leaf once with a short pour, and discard that water.
The rinse warms the vessel and washes the leaf, and in practice it is not optional.
A pitcher lets the brew be decanted immediately, which stops the steep.
Leaving leaf in hot water between steeps is what makes the later cups bitter.
Timing matters less than pouring completely, since pooled water keeps extracting.
Keep a timer nearby for the first few sessions, and stop needing it later.
The whole setup fits on a tray, and it takes about a minute to arrange.
The first three infusions
The first steep is short, and it often tastes thinner than people expect.
Give it 20 seconds, and pour everything out into the pitcher.
The leaf is still opening, so the first cup is an introduction rather than a peak.
The second steep is the one that shows the tea, and about 30 seconds is typical.
The third is usually the strongest, and it can take 40 seconds.
Add 5 to 10 seconds per steep after that, and watch the colour.
A ball rolled oolong may need three steeps before it fully unfurls.
Strip style oolongs open immediately, and their peak arrives earlier.
Six infusions or more is normal for a good oolong, and some give extra.
Stop when the cup loses sweetness rather than when a count runs out.
A session like this takes around 10 minutes, and it is a pleasant way to drink.
The leaf at the end should be fully opened and should smell sweet rather than sour.
If it smells sour, the steeps ran too long or the leaf sat wet between them.
Adjusting for the roast
Roast level is the main thing that changes the method inside this category.
A light oolong such as a greener dancong（单丛）behaves close to a green tea.
Use cooler water, near 90 °C, and keep the early steeps short.
A medium roast such as a traditional Tieguanyin（铁观音）sits in the middle.
Boiling water is fine there, and the leaf gives five or six good steeps.
A heavy roast such as yancha（岩茶）wants boiling water from the first steep.
It also benefits from a slightly longer rinse, since the roast needs waking up.
Ten seconds of rinse is enough, and the leaf will smell of charcoal and fruit.
Roasted oolongs keep going longer, and eight to ten steeps is not unusual.
Watch for the roast dropping away around the fourth or fifth steep.
That is the moment the base leaf finally shows itself, and it is worth waiting for.
A light oolong will not do that, since there is no roast to lose.
Match the water to the roast, and most of the adjustment is already done.