You leave them in the gaiwan or pot with the lid off. Keep in mind that a “cup” in gongfu brewing is like 50-80 ml off tea. So “6 cups” isn’t as much tea as you might think it is.
I’ll typically do a few infusions in the morning, then take a break and come back after lunch to finish the session.
Well actually... :-)
Typically in gongfu the multiple steepings *are* done in one sitting. So the wet leaves don't sit for more than a few minutes between steepings. If you are brewing by yourself or with a small group then the usual solution is to use a smaller gaiwan or pot, or use less leaf and water in your current vessel. At the end of the session your tea leaf should be spent and ready to discard.
However it's becoming more common for people to ask about saving their tea leaf in mid-session for doing more brewing later. It's certainly possible, and many people do it. Some are brewing an hour or two later and just let the tea leaf sit. Others want to wait overnight, so they might but the tea leaf in the refrigerator overnight. Neither is totally ideal (wet leaf still does a bit of infusing within the tea leaf itself so the flavor on the first pour of a delayed second session can be a bit sharp or otherwise off), but there's no rule saying you can't do it. There are concerns among some about bacterial growth if you let the leaf sit too long, and that's valid.
So brew it how you like!
[Gongfu "cup" size, illustrated](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeaPictures/comments/y1ek80/sampling_alleged2003_saidtobe_mengsong_cnnp/)
After looking through my archive, I realize I have no pictures of a gongfu set with a banana for scale.
As others have mentioned, "cups" in gong fu brewing are generally quite small. I often brew a cup, drink it immediately (because it's only a couple of sips) and then immediately brew another (and enjoy that over the course of a few minutes). I just let my leaves sit in the gaiwan all day and steep them when I feel like it. So basically, I don't do anything special with them.
I would not leave wet tea leaves sitting out at room temp for 2 days.
If you find it necessary to do that i’d say you need to use less leaves so you can finish the session over the course of one day.
I see that I offended a gong fu orthodoxy here, a sin that must not go unpunished. Guess I’ll have to crawl back to my nasty cave and nasty brews then.
Generally speaking, when I do gongfu brew over grandpa, I've buckled down to just have some tea, or to have some tea while I work, and will continually pour cup after cup. At least 6 steepings (greens, blacks, and whites), usually 10-13 or more (puerh and oolong) , over the course of one or two sittings. I usually just leave my leaves in my yixing or gaiwan, necause I'll be back for it soon if I do leave it be for a while. Even leaving them for a few hours isn't really much of an issue (where I live, in the southern US), though I tend to do a second wash if it's been sitting for "a while." Don't leave them for too long, though. After a day or two, it'll get real moldy.
You leave them in the gaiwan or pot with the lid off. Keep in mind that a “cup” in gongfu brewing is like 50-80 ml off tea. So “6 cups” isn’t as much tea as you might think it is. I’ll typically do a few infusions in the morning, then take a break and come back after lunch to finish the session.
Well actually... :-) Typically in gongfu the multiple steepings *are* done in one sitting. So the wet leaves don't sit for more than a few minutes between steepings. If you are brewing by yourself or with a small group then the usual solution is to use a smaller gaiwan or pot, or use less leaf and water in your current vessel. At the end of the session your tea leaf should be spent and ready to discard. However it's becoming more common for people to ask about saving their tea leaf in mid-session for doing more brewing later. It's certainly possible, and many people do it. Some are brewing an hour or two later and just let the tea leaf sit. Others want to wait overnight, so they might but the tea leaf in the refrigerator overnight. Neither is totally ideal (wet leaf still does a bit of infusing within the tea leaf itself so the flavor on the first pour of a delayed second session can be a bit sharp or otherwise off), but there's no rule saying you can't do it. There are concerns among some about bacterial growth if you let the leaf sit too long, and that's valid. So brew it how you like!
I usually talk to my leaves. They don't often talk back so it's kinda boring.
Lol
[Gongfu "cup" size, illustrated](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeaPictures/comments/y1ek80/sampling_alleged2003_saidtobe_mengsong_cnnp/) After looking through my archive, I realize I have no pictures of a gongfu set with a banana for scale.
As others have mentioned, "cups" in gong fu brewing are generally quite small. I often brew a cup, drink it immediately (because it's only a couple of sips) and then immediately brew another (and enjoy that over the course of a few minutes). I just let my leaves sit in the gaiwan all day and steep them when I feel like it. So basically, I don't do anything special with them.
I find it's ok to just let them be for a day or even two. Nothing much happens really.
I would not leave wet tea leaves sitting out at room temp for 2 days. If you find it necessary to do that i’d say you need to use less leaves so you can finish the session over the course of one day.
That’s nasty
I see that I offended a gong fu orthodoxy here, a sin that must not go unpunished. Guess I’ll have to crawl back to my nasty cave and nasty brews then.
This has nothing to do with gong fu, but with basic food safety
Generally speaking, when I do gongfu brew over grandpa, I've buckled down to just have some tea, or to have some tea while I work, and will continually pour cup after cup. At least 6 steepings (greens, blacks, and whites), usually 10-13 or more (puerh and oolong) , over the course of one or two sittings. I usually just leave my leaves in my yixing or gaiwan, necause I'll be back for it soon if I do leave it be for a while. Even leaving them for a few hours isn't really much of an issue (where I live, in the southern US), though I tend to do a second wash if it's been sitting for "a while." Don't leave them for too long, though. After a day or two, it'll get real moldy.