5g for 100ml at 90°C is a solid ratio but your steep times matter enormously for longevity. Are you doing flash steeps (5-10 seconds) or longer infusions? For gongfu style the key is: - Steeps 1-3: very short (5-15s) - Each subsequent steep: add 5-10 seconds If you're steeping 30+ seconds from the first cup you're exhausting the leaves fast. With a decent ball-rolled Dong Ding or Tie Guan Yin you should easily get 7-10 steeps.
Quality indicator: yes and no. High-quality oolongs do open more gradually and last longer because of how tightly the leaves are rolled. But cheap teas can also seem to last many steeps by giving weak, watery infusions. The test is flavor complexity, not just color in the cup. If steep 6 still has complexity and body — that's quality. If it's just faint colored water — that's quantity without quality.
Also: always do a quick 5-second rinse before brewing. Helps the leaves open up properly and the subsequent steeps are much better.
Tried the short initial steeps approach. Went from 3-4 steeps to 8 with my Dong Ding. The 5th and 6th steeps were actually the sweetest. Wish I had known this 2 years ago.
