>When using an infuser basket, is it ideal to have the water level so
>high that the entire basket is filled to the brim, or is it simply
>enough to make sure that the tea leaves themselves are covered in water
>(excluding the ones that float, which will always float no matter how
>high the water level is)?

I would say that you need 2-3 times the height of the expanded leaf.
If you barely cover the leaf I suspect that it will not get as
thorough of an extraction. The leaf needs to move freely and not be
encumbered. This is based on experience not science.

>The space for the leaves to unfurl and be
>exposed to water does not change with the water level since that's a
>function of the infuser dimensions.

I disagree here. The "effective" volume of the infuser basket is
limited to the height of the water, any infuser volume above the water
line is irrelevant. The volume for the leaf to expand "freely" is a
function of V = H x PI x (r x r) If you have a 3 inch diameter
infuser basket and fill it one inch with water you will give the leaf
7 cubic inches of space to expand. If you use the same 3 inch diameter
infuser and fill it up 4 inches with water you will give the leaf 28
cubic inches of volume to expand.

>The only difference here is that
>there isn't that much water *on top* of the leaves -- but so what?
>Should that really make a difference?

It has been my "unscientific" understanding that the more room that
you allow the leaf to swim the happier the leaf is. I am sure that
there has got to be a practical limit here but I would allow at least
2-3 times the volume of the unfurled leaf.



Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net
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