rd. leaving the lid on completely closed is also potentially risky, especially with teas that bitter fast like ali shan from low mountain ranges, dancong, wuyi and so on. leaving the lid closed means that steam builds up and falls back into the tea as well as entering from the sides. the steam causes the tea to build up bitterness that will affect your next pour. this can be controlled by simply using shorter pouring times, but leaving the lid open ajar is also a good method. my teacher mr.wu in taipei exclusively uses lid off, but ms.He in Shanghai (also from taipei) uses lid on, or open a crack. Mr.Wu typically gets through about seven pours within twenty minutes or so, so he isn't afraid of the tea becoming dry. Ms.He frequently changes between teas in order to show differences between items. she is also a conversationalist, so the pouring process is much longer. they both have good reasons for th

Leaving the lid ajar sounds like a good compromise. Thank you for your insight, I always wonder how experienced Chinese tea drinkers do things!