9 AM - A cup of flower tea. Drinking three cups of tea per day is ideal. The first cup is morning tea, best consumed between 9 AM and 10 AM after breakfast. It helps refresh, detoxify, and fight fatigue, making it the most important of the three daily teas. Flower tea is most suitable for morning consumption. Being twice-processed, it combines the rich fragrance of flowers with the fresh aroma of tea leaves, helping to awaken the mind and boost energy throughout the day. However, note that people with insomnia should avoid flower tea as it may worsen sleep disorders, and those with allergic constitutions should also refrain. Flower tea is best brewed in a lidded porcelain cup. The focus isn't on admiring the tea leaves but on savoring the fragrance. Use recently boiled water, cover to steep for a while, then uncover to enjoy the invigorating aroma that boosts mental alertness.

1 PM - A cup of green tea. The second cup is afternoon tea, ideally consumed between 1 PM and 3 PM after lunch or a nap. Afternoon tea can be slightly stronger to help lower blood lipids and protect blood vessels. Jiang Yongwen explains that green tea's health benefits—antioxidant properties, free radical scavenging, and antiviral effects—primarily come from polyphenols in tea leaves. Therefore, green tea is best brewed fresh. If water temperature is too high or steeping too long, polyphenols will be destroyed. Generally, brew green tea at 85°C water temperature (when water first boils), for 2-3 minutes. The tea-to-water ratio should be appropriate at 1:50, typically using 150ml water for 3g tea leaves, resulting in a moderately strong brew. For utensils, porcelain cups or transparent glass cups are suitable.

6 PM - A cup of black tea. The third cup is evening tea, best drunk between 6 PM and 7 PM after dinner, serving to lower blood lipids and aid digestion. Yang Li notes that black tea is most suitable for evening consumption because fermented tea has low caffeine content, minimizing sleep disruption. People with cold constitutions can benefit from drinking more black tea, as it warms the body, dispels cold, and is particularly useful for those with cold stomachs, cold hands and feet, weak constitutions, or prone to diarrhea. Regarding brewing, unlike green tea, high-temperature steeping actually promotes the effective dissolution of flavonoids in black tea, enhancing both flavor and aroma while better leveraging its health functions. Thus, brew black tea with boiling water and steep relatively longer—generally 5 minutes is optimal. The water amount for brewing black tea is similar to green tea. Gongfu black strip tea can be brewed 3-4 times, while broken black tea 1-2 times. Additionally, try to avoid drinking tea after 8 PM.