Method

1
Build the aromatic base: bring the water to a simmer in a medium pot with the star anise, cassia, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, tangerine peel and rock sugar, then cover and simmer gently. No soy yet, no tea yet. 15m
Uses: water, star anise, cassia stick, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns, fresh ginger, dried tangerine peel, rock sugar
2
Meanwhile, boil the eggs: lower them into a separate pot of already-boiling water with a spider, then drop to a bare simmer. You want the yolk fully set but not chalky, because the eggs steep for a day. 9m
Uses: large eggs
3
Move the eggs straight into an ice bath. 5m
4
Split the pot: ladle about 1 cup of the base into a small saucepan for the baby. Off the heat, add the barley tea to the small pan and steep, then strain the barley out. 5m
Uses: roasted barley tea
5
Stir both soy sauces into the large pot only.
Uses: low-sodium soy sauce, dark soy sauce
6
Kill the heat under the large pot. Add the black tea, steep exactly 5 minutes, then strain the leaves out. 5m
Uses: loose black tea

Note: never boil the tea — a short off-heat steep gives tea flavor without the tannin bite
7
Crack each egg all over with the back of a teaspoon, rotating as you go: 40–50 taps for fine, dense crazing rather than a few big fault lines. Keep the membrane intact, so the liquid wicks along the cracks instead of flooding in.
Note: the dense craze is the Shanghai signature
8
Divide the eggs between the pots, 1–2 in the barley pot and the rest in the large pot. Bring both back up and hold at 82–88°C. 20m
Uses: large eggs

Target: braise 85°C 185°F, max 88°C 190°F

Note: a rolling boil rubberizes the white and sloughs the shell
9
Take both pots off the heat and let the eggs cool to room temperature in their liquid.
10
Refrigerate the eggs submerged in their liquid. 12–24h
11
Peel just before eating.