Calculon:
> >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

Mike Petro:
> 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.

Hamilcar:
> If the water isn't moving, does it really make a difference?

As usual, I agree with Mike. In my sinentic opinion, there are two
first-order considerations: local equilibration and convection. Assuming
that the leaves are at temperature, extraction for a single-steep tea may
still be influenced significantly by local concentration of the main
solubles. (After two or three full steeps, I'm guessing that the
infinite-dilution approximation applies.) So that "agony" stuff, beyond
aesthetics, may be important for boundary-layer mixing. Much better, per
Mike and Hamilcar's points, would be enough open space around the leaves to
permit thermal convection. Personally, I swirl my pots a bit during
steeping, and there is still often a strong conentration gradient in the pot
when pouring. In a glass pot, the effect of density-driven convection from
both heat and dissolved solids is quite apparent.

Derek:
> If one wished to be a real snob about it, one would not use an infuser
> at all. One would use two pots and a strainer.

A REAL snob only uses whole-leaf teas that don't even require a strainer.
Though perhaps some of the smaller ones like Mao Feng still need a bit of
technique to keep in the pot. Of course, if you're going to shell out for
fancy tea, it's nice to show a leaf or two - like "accidentally" leaving the
price tag on a Ferrari.

-DM