Tea balls and infusing

[FairTaxGuy]

I just ordered my first batch of loose leaf tea from Adagio and was wondering about tea balls but have read many posts recommending NOT to use them because the leaves can't unfurl and infuse properly inside the teaball.

Does this really make a difference? I mean even if the tea is packed together so tightly it's not that dense where water woudn't be able to pass through it right? For example when I barbeque I like to use mesquite chips to smoke. I soak these in water for about 30 minutes. Afterwards I have a nice brown mesquite tea (no, I haven't drank it yet ) that I dump out. Wood is porous enough for the water to make it through the chip of wood and this is my argument for the case of tea and tea balls.

Though, perhaps the biggest concentrate of tea stays inside the mass of leaves in the tea ball since there isn't moving water to flush out that higher concentration in the mass. You could press on the leaves after opening up the tea ball but I guess this could also lead to bitterness with the highest concentration of tea being in that small area for the whole time of steeping, if that's in fact what happens.

Any chemists or chemical engineers in here? Bein a EE I can only pose the question, but not solve this one for myself Basically I'd like to be able to save myself $19 and use a teaball is 95% efficient. Thanks!

[Warden Andy]

For starting out, a good sized teaball will be fine if you just brew a cup at a time. Or, you can get an infusor basket, which would be better than a teaball.

Or, if you want a better method, you could get a small porcelain or glass teapot that is about the size of your cup, and pour the tea through a strainer into your cup.

[deadalchemist]

i have a very large teaball which works well, so if you find one big enough you can have a nice cup of tea. if you want just a single cup, i found a very good infuser that works well. i'm really happy with it, and believe me, i've bought a bunch of tea balls and infusers trying to find the perfect one for a quick cup of tea. this one worked the best. i just used it to make oolong now, and i'm sipping on a delicious, tasty cup. here's the link if you'd like: http://allteas.com/allteas/1110.html

[kodama]

In my opinion these are the "good" ways to make full-leaf teas:

-A Japanese style teapot with a ceramic filter at the base of the spout.

-A similar (yixing?) teapot with a cut ceramic filter or metal SPOUT-BASE filter

-A gaiwan

-A cup with no filter (whole leaves sink) or a cup-sized ceramic filter

Anything else does not let the leaves move and unfold, which makes a big difference, especially in resteeping. They are also prettier.

[TeaFanatic]

The other problem that many tea balls have is that the metal is not coated so it tends to leech metal flavor into the tea. I really think that the ingenuitea is worth the 19 bucks.

[MarshalN]

There are many better ways of making tea than a tea ball. Tea ball is really only ok (and just ok) for black tea. For everything else, use the many other superior methods available (many of which are mentioned already).

[LavenderPekoe]

-A Japanese style teapot with a ceramic filter at the base of the spout.

I would really like to find one of these, but I haven't been successfull. Any one have any suggestions?

[kodama]

Hrm... I don't know if you are not near a good import shop.

[jphares]

i enjoy a tea ball
great for one cup and definitely does much better at infusion than the ingenuiTEA that i wasted 20 bucks on
time for another cup

[TeaFanatic]

What's wrong with the ingenuitea...?

[eliw23]

I love my IngenuiTea! I even have two. One at home (older version) and the newer one (at work). There's plenty of room for the leaves to expand and it pretty much filters out all the leaves. With the newer one, my filter was too loose and I e-mailed Adagio and they replaced it with a better fitting one so now it works just fine. Cleaning's easier too. Which version do you (the OP) have?

[TeaFanatic]

I have the newer version and I have had it for about 6 months now. Besides the staining that has occured, the filter is in pretty good shape, but I plan to replace it soon anyways (because a new filter is so cheap!). It has really let me jump into loose leaf tea...I love it!

[Warden Andy]

For the tea fairtaxguy got, a gaiwan is best, but may not be the best thing to start with since it takes a good amount of practice to use.

-A Japanese style teapot with a ceramic filter at the base of the spout.

I would really like to find one of these, but I haven't been successfull. Any one have any suggestions?

There are two of those on this site. The brown one is cheaper, and is 32 dollars.

[LavenderPekoe]

There are two of those on this site. The brown one is cheaper, and is 32 dollars.

Thanks, Andy. I don't think I could handle the side pour ones. They do have some non-side pour models with the mesh bands or the ceramic screens there too. I think I really like this one. I wish it were a touch bigger, though. This is the most....um....earthy I think I could go. I prefer the look of things like the bee house teapots (I know, I know). Unfortunately, the ones I like on this site are upwards of $80. You would think this type of strainer would be more prevalent, it just makes so much sense to me.

[MarshalN]

15oz is plenty big though.... for one person it's already too big, almost...