Expanding Tea Filter

[JD]

While using my kyusu teapot, and thinking about the filter in it, I thought about a filter, possibly made out of a very thin cloth mesh, that fits inside a teapot, and is large enough to expand to all the walls of the teapot, allowing the tea leaves to expand fully inside the filter, instead of those crappy tiny filters that trap the tea inside them. Anyone know of such filters?

[tmorten]

What type of filter do you currently have in your kyusu? I find that either a sasame filter or an obi-ami stainless mesh filter tend to work the best and allow room for full expansion of the leaves.

Something like one of these larger cone hemp filters might work if you want a removable filter: http://www.cuspnaturalproducts.com/hemp_kitchen.html

[JD]

Those reusable coffee filters would work pretty well.

I got an obi-ami filter. I took it out to clean behind it a few times, and bent the filter out of whack, so it's not going back in anymore.

I'd like to get one of those long, round mesh filters that are long enough to touch the bottom of the pot, but short enough so I can put the lid on the pot. Though that reusable coffee filter might actually work better. I tried a paper coffee filter and the sucker fit in there just perfectly. A #4 size. But it wasn't mesh or porous, so the water went through real slowly. I had to remove it from the pot after steeping, and then just squeeze the water out. The sencha still came out good, so.. *shrug*

[tmorten]

I would assume that a cloth mesh or paper style cone filter would only work well if you lifted it straight up out of the pot to filter after brewing. The pour would probably be restricted and fairly slow if you left it in and poured out of the spout, which is what you tried with the paper coffee filter?

I have always just stuck to using sasame clay filters in my kyusus. They have a smooth, worry free pour without any clogging problems. As you probably know from your experience, the obi-ami works very well also, especially for fukamushi. The only downside with these types of filters is that they can be a pain to clean when tiny bits of leaves get stuck in them. Sounds like you have dealt with this problem as well!

[JD]

It's not the tiny bits of stuff that get stuck in the filter, it's the tea scum that forms on the teapot wall behind the filter.

I did order a new Banko pot with a ceramic "ball" filter on the spout. I don't know how clogged it will get. Hopefully not too much.

I did lift the paper out after steeping, but I did a test run with water first just to see how slowly the pour would be. Not good. So after steeping, I pulled the whole filter out.

[tmorten]

I hope the Banko works out well for you