Steep vs Gongfu Tea Timer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Steep
This app helps you brew the perfect cup of tea with precise timers and temperature guidance for various tea types. It syncs seamlessly between your iPhone and Apple Watch, offering convenient control and customization for your tea-making experience.
- Synchronized iPhone and Apple Watch timers
- Preset brew times and temperatures
- Customizable tea library
- Apple Watch complications
- Live Activities and Dynamic Island support
- Optional pre-alert haptics
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A precise tea timer and brew journal for iPhone and Apple Watch. Start a timer from your wrist or phone, follow the right time and temperature, and keep every brew in one place. BREW FROM APPLE WATCH • Start timers instantly from the app or a complication. • Pause, resume, add time, or cancel from your wrist. • Get optional pre-alert haptics before your tea is ready. • Keep brewing when your iPhone is not nearby. PRECISE TIMERS FOR EVERY TEA • Built-in presets for green, black, oolong, white, herbal, chai, pu-erh, matcha, and rooibos. • Time and temperature guidance for loose leaf tea or tea bags. • Multi-steep profiles for gongfu sessions and repeat infusions. • Run several tea timers at once. BUILD YOUR TEA LIBRARY • Add custom teas, notes, photos, and favorite brewing parameters. • Organize teas into collections and choose what appears on Apple Watch. • Save ratings and tasting notes to remember your best cups. TRACK BREWS AND CAFFEINE • Review brew history, streaks, and weekly insights. • See estimated caffeine adjusted for steep time and infusion number. • Get an optional bedtime caffeine warning. • Sync completed brews with Apple Health. STAY IN SYNC • Follow active timers with Live Activities on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. • Keep teas, history, collections, settings, and photos synced with iCloud. • Use iPhone and Apple Watch together or independently. STEEP PRO Choose monthly, yearly, or lifetime access to unlock unlimited custom teas, caffeine insights, complete brew history, multiple simultaneous timers, iCloud sync, and advanced timer controls. Whether you brew once a day or run an afternoon gongfu session, Steep keeps every cup precise. Terms of Use: https://trifoiltrailblazer.com/en/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://trifoiltrailblazer.com/en/privacy-policy
Gongfu Tea Timer
Master traditional Chinese tea ceremonies with precise steep timing for various tea types. This app offers pre-configured settings and custom profiles to ensure perfect results for every brew, including Lock Screen and Dynamic Island notifications.
- Pre-configured timing for 5 tea types
- Multiple rounds with adjusted steep times
- Rinse step support
- Custom tea profile creation
- Lock Screen timer
- Dynamic Island support
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Master the art of gongfu tea brewing with precise timing for every steep. Gongfu Tea Timer guides you through the traditional Chinese tea ceremony with optimized steep times for different tea types. Whether you're brewing delicate green tea or robust pu-erh, get perfect results every time. FEATURES: • Pre-configured timing for 5 tea types: Green, Black, Oolong, White, and Pu-erh • Multiple rounds with automatically adjusted steep times • Rinse step for teas that benefit from it • Additional steep generation for extended sessions • Create and save custom tea profiles LIVE ACTIVITIES: • See your timer on the Lock Screen • Dynamic Island support for iPhone 14 Pro and newer • Get alerts when each round completes without opening the app DESIGNED FOR GONGFU: Unlike generic kitchen timers, this app understands gongfu brewing. Each tea type has carefully calibrated times that increase with each steep, following traditional gongfu methodology. Perfect for tea enthusiasts who want consistent, delicious results from their gongfu sessions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Gongfu Tea Timer at none against Steep's 3. Gongfu Tea Timer also leads on iOS requirement (16.2 vs 18.5). Steep's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Steep sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Gongfu Tea Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Steep against 5.0 for Gongfu Tea Timer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Steep ships an update every 5 days, Gongfu Tea Timer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Steep | Gongfu Tea Timer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 16.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ivan Terekhin | RAYMOND LIU LUO |
Customer experience
Steep
Gongfu Tea Timer
In-app purchases
Steep
- Tea Timer Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
- Tea Timer Pro Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Premium$39.99
Gongfu Tea Timer
No in-app purchases






