
Levels of boiling
In Chinese cuisine, particularly tea brewing, one distinguishes five stages of boiling:[4] "shrimp eyes, the first tiny bubbles that start to appear on the surface of the kettle water, crab eyes, the secondary, larger bubbles, then fish eyes, followed by rope of pearls, and finally raging torrent [rolling boil]".
In detail:[5]
shrimp eyes
about 70-80 °C (155–175 °F) – separate bubbles, rising to top
crab eyes
about 80 °C (175 °F) – streams of bubbles
fish eyes
about 80-90 °C (175–195 °F) – larger bubbles
rope of pearls
about 90-95 °C (195–205 °F) – steady streams of large bubbles
raging torrent
rolling boil, swirling and roiling