There's an art to brewing oolong tea. You need the correct amount of tea, good quality water at the correct temperature, and the correct brewing time. You need to know the tea you are brewing, and you need to adjust the time of each steep to maintain the flavor of the tea.

It's possible to make oolong tea in any old teapot, but it's best to use an earthenware gong-fu style teapot. These small teapots allow for quick, multiple steeps of tea, and give you fine control over the strength of each steep.

Another important tea utensil is the serving pot. After the tea is brewed in the teapot all the liquid is poured into the the serving pot. Use a strainer since there is usually a bit of sediment. From the serving pot the tea is poured into individual tea cups.

All of this creates a certain amount of spillage, so a tray or bowl is needed to catch the overflow. These five items are the essentials of any oolong tea set.

But we can enhance the experience of brewing and drinking tea with a number of accessories. Many of these items are not strictly needed, but can add to the pleasure of making and serving oolong tea.

	Tea dish: for judging the amount of tea to be used and for examining the appearance and fragrance of the dried tea leaves.
	Tea scoop: used to take the tea leaves from the container and put them in the tea pot.
	Tea funnel: placed on the teapot to prevent the leaves from spilling.
	Tea tongs: for handling the hot cups and removing the brewed leaves from the teapot.
	Tea needle: for keeping the spout of the teapot free from tea leaves.
	Utensil holder: for storing the tea needle, tea tongs, tea scoop and tea funnel.
	Teapot: for brewing the tea.
	Tea server: holds the brewed tea prior to serving.
	Snifter cup: for enjoying the fragrance of the tea. The tea can be served into the snifter cup and the guest pours it into the teacup. The snifter cup retains the fragrance of the tea because of its shape.
	Serving tray: for presenting the snifter cup along with the tea cup.
	Tea cup: for drinking the tea.
	Tea tray: for brewing the tea. This tray is equipped with a drainage tube for excess water.
	Bowl: can be used in place of a tea tray for retaining excess water.
	Tea towel: used to dry the bottom of the tea cups before the tea is served.
	Kettle: heats the water with gas, alcohol, or electricity.
	Thermometer: for measuring the water temperature.
	Timer: for measuring the brewing time.
	Strainer: to filter the sediment from the tea.
	Pot brush: The tea pot can be brushed with tea and wiped down to improve its appearance.