Comparison

Tea Master vs Gongfu Tea Timer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tea Master

Master the art of tea brewing with personalized guidance. Explore international standards and ancient traditions, track brewing times precisely, and build your own tea collection. Elevate every tea ritual into a refined experience.

Highlights
  • Personalized brewing styles
  • International and traditional methods
  • Precise brewing time tracking
  • Customizable tea collection
  • Ritual enhancement
Features
Read full description

Brew every tea the way it was actually meant to be brewed. Tea Master gives you per-infusion timings, water temperature and leaf-to-water ratio for 45 teas, and a journal that remembers every cup you have made. FOUR BREWING STYLES • Gongfu: many short infusions, each one a little longer than the last • Western: the classic single long steep • Matcha: whisking timer • Cold brew: hours, not minutes A LIBRARY OF 45 TEAS Sheng and shu pu-erh, oolong, black, green, white, yellow, dark, Japanese and herbal, from Da Hong Pao and Tie Guan Yin to Gyokuro, Sencha and Silver Needle. Every tea carries its own temperature, ratio and full infusion schedule. NEVER MISS A STEEP • Live Activity on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Home Screen widgets with quick start • Six timer sounds and haptics YOUR TEA, TRACKED • Brewing journal: rate each session, keep tasting notes • Statistics and streaks • My Shelf: keep track of the teas you actually own • Dosage calculator: enter your vessel size, get the exact grams • Brewing guides for every family of tea • Build your own tea profiles from scratch PRIVATE BY DESIGN No ads. No account. No data collection. Your journal and shelf sync privately through your own iCloud. FREE AND PREMIUM The full timer and two teas are free forever. Premium unlocks the complete 45-tea library, journal, statistics, shelf, dosage calculator, guides and custom profiles, starting with a 7-day free trial. This app is governed by Apple's standard End User License Agreement (EULA), available at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Tea Master4 screens
Gongfu Tea Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Gongfu Tea Timer at 5.0 against Tea Master's 3.0. Gongfu Tea Timer also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Tea Master sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Gongfu Tea Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gongfu Tea Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gongfu Tea Timer has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Tea Master's written reviews are positive against 100% of Gongfu Tea Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tea Master ships an update weekly, Gongfu Tea Timer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Tea Master versus Gongfu Tea Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTea MasterGongfu Tea Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavyd HrutsRAYMOND LIU LUO

Customer experience

Tea Master

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Gongfu Tea Timer

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Tea Master

Subscriptions2
  • My Tea Master Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Annual14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • lifetime$44.99
None

Gongfu Tea Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tea Master free?
Tea Master is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gongfu Tea Timer free?
Gongfu Tea Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tea Master or Gongfu Tea Timer?
Gongfu Tea Timer is rated higher. Tea Master averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Gongfu Tea Timer averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Tea Master or Gongfu Tea Timer have ads?
Neither Tea Master nor Gongfu Tea Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tea Master or Gongfu Tea Timer?
Tea Master ships an update weekly, and Gongfu Tea Timer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Tea Master was updated on September 13, 2026 and Gongfu Tea Timer on September 14, 2026.

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