Well, things have diverged a bit since my original post, and It's certainly
true that in the bigger picture, we're grateful to have excellent loose-leaf
tea and brewing methods available. And I, too, have noticed flavor enhancement
in tea that's been allowed to cool.

But if I may bring things back around, why does gongfu tea with high
leaf-to-water ratio taste better than leaf compressed in a teaball, given the
same degree of compression and water contact? Could it be that there's _so
much_ more water in the teaball scenario?

Joe