Thank you again, Derek. I think you've answered my question.

I see that I misled two people so far by a carelessly worded statement
in my second post on this thread. Yes, I *do* realize that the relative
volume of the cylinder increases as the water level increases, i.e.,
any amount of non-water-filled volume is really not applicable to the
equation. But I was sort of taking for granted that the water would
still cover the unfurled leaves, and that the leaves tend to sink to
the bottom anyway.

So, yes, the water does cover my leaves even after they have unfurled,
so I should be ok I guess.

As for snobbery: I find the two-pot method to be very inexact. I can't
pour that fast anyway, so inevitably the liquid that comes out at the
end of the pour will be more tannic and strong -- the dregs, so to
speak. With an infuser basket you can instantly remove the leaves from
the water, which is much better in my opinion. Of course, the dust and
micro-particles still stick around and do their thing, but it's a
better way to do things.

I have to grant that the maximal space in the two pot method is the
ultimate in "leaf comfort", but it probably doesn't make much
difference once you get to a certain size of infuser basket (i.e. not a
tea ball). Different story for gung fu, though, where you have such a
large quantity of leaf that it would fill up an infuser like a squashed
sponge....