I would recommend figuring out the difference between bitter and astringent, it will help you a lot.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
I've been playing with the pouring more and making progress. I switched back from yixing to a gaiwan and gained more control. I pour around the edges of the gaiwan, trying to minimize the total amount of time that hot water is being poured directly onto leaf.wyardley wrote: You can also try a more gentle pour - pour from 4-6" above the pot or gaiwan, very slowly and around the rim with a really thin stream of water, so that it takes 10-15 seconds or more to make a circle, and so the pot is full when you reach where you started and go towards the center a little.
I think many people will still say heavier roasted teas should be able to take direct hot water on its leaves. At what level of roasting would you say a tea won't be able to tolerate direct water?
I'll be experimenting with this more for now and maybe trying to apply the same idea to a pot.
edit: avoiding the leaf seems to only be necessary after the first infusion.