Water pouring methods mainly involve the following five variables:

1. Speed of water pouring

2. Intensity of water flow

3. Direction of water stream

4. Height of water pouring

5. Thickness of water stream

The speed of water pouring mainly affects the water temperature during steeping, and incidentally affects the intensity of water flow. Besides being related to the strength of tea flavor, it also affects the harmony of soup texture and aroma.

The intensity of water flow mainly affects the coordination between taste, aroma, and soup texture. An intense water flow causes tea leaves to swirl, resulting in high extraction and integration of tea and water at the initial high-temperature contact point. Increased friction with air elevates the aroma, while the thickness and softness of the tea soup correspondingly decrease. A gentle water flow keeps the tea relatively still, allowing slow dissolution from the tea base, which then integrates again at a lower temperature during soup extraction. This increases the thickness and softness of the tea soup, enhances its layered character, while reducing the tea soup's aroma.

The direction of water stream mainly relates to the dynamic-static ratio between tea base and water flow, and the uniformity of water contact with the tea base. When brewing Pu'er tea, people who intentionally control pouring methods commonly use the following four approaches:

1. Spiral pouring: This water stream allows both the edge of the gaiwan and the surface tea base to directly contact the poured water, increasing tea-water integration at the initial pouring moment.

2. Circular pouring: This water stream allows the edge of the tea to contact water immediately, while the central surface part mainly contacts water only when the water level rises. Tea-water integration is slightly poorer at the initial pouring moment.

3. Unilateral fixed-point pouring: This pouring method allows only one side of the tea to contact water, resulting in relatively poor tea-water integration initially. If the fixed point is on the gaiwan wall, integration is slightly better compared to pouring between the gaiwan and tea base.

4. Center fixed-point pouring: This is a relatively extreme method, typically paired with thin water streams and slow, prolonged pouring. It allows only a small central portion of the tea base to directly contact the water stream, while the rest dissolves at an extremely slow pace, resulting in the poorest tea-water integration at the initial pouring moment and the most pronounced layered character in the tea soup. Many fermented teas may consequently develop overly concentrated flavors that separate from the tea soup.