Tea ball infuser
A hinged perforated sphere, or a clipped-together spoon, that closes around a measure of leaf. It is the most widely sold piece of loose-leaf equipment and the one most reliably responsible for weak tea, because dry leaf expands several times over and a closed ball gives it nowhere to go.
Identity
- Category
- Filter or infuser
- Also called
- mesh ball, infuser ball, tea egg, clip spoon infuser
- Material
- Stainless steel mesh or perforated sheet
- Typical capacity
- 10–25 ml
- Skill level
- Beginner
Porosity
Not porous. It contributes nothing of its own to the liquor, so it can be moved between teas freely and washed with detergent without consequence.
Where it comes from
Modern and Western; not a form used in any traditional tea culture.
Named here rather than presented as generic equipment. The object belongs to a practice, and TeaHQ describes it from the outside.
If you do not own one
A wide basket infuser costs about the same and solves the problem outright. Leaf loose in the mug, poured through a strainer, costs nothing and works better still. The ball is only adequate for fine broken leaf that barely expands.
This one is not marked essential. The tea can be made without it.
Brewing methods it is used for
- Mug infuser brewing — Loose leaf in a basket inside a mug — the most common way loose tea is actually made, and the method most often responsible for people concluding that loose leaf is not worth the trouble.
Care and maintenance
Rinse before the leaf dries in the perforations. Hinges and chains trap leaf dust and are difficult to clear once they do.
Other filter or infusers
Sources
This page is TeaHQ synthesis. No external source stands behind the description, the material or the account of how the object is cared for. Where the record names a tradition, that attribution is TeaHQ’s own reading of common practice rather than a citation.
TeaHQ names no maker, brand or shop and has nothing to sell. Nothing on this page should be read as advice to buy the object — the substitute note above exists because owning it is usually optional.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this piece of teaware against something it is routinely confused with, and argued the differences out in full.
- Tea ball vs basket infuser — The most widely sold piece of loose-leaf equipment against the one that works. A hinged perforated sphere confines leaf to a volume smaller than the wet leaf needs, and it is the single most reliable cause of the conclusion that loose leaf is not worth the trouble.