/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Help me /tea/ I feel like a retard, how am I supposed to take apart/brew these waffle cakes and also many minis from white2tea? I just had pic related and the cubes only fully came apart 10+ steeps in, even with me picking at them in between brews. Should I just

>have a couple minute-long steeps at the start?
>use a puer pick?
>only brew this tea western/grandpa style?
>not care that they only open up after 10+ steeps?

I just went for the last option and used regular gaiwan steeping times (10s +5 consecutively) and to be fair the taste was good, but it just feels wrong that after like 8-9 steeps the leaves at the centre are still completely dry