Hydrocyclonic Tea Strainer

As everyone knows, fresh loose tea leaves produce the most flavoursome cup of tea, as the leaves are free to circulate in the pot and infuse their flavour. However loose leaf tea has largely been replaced by teabags for convenience. What is needed is a method of removing the brewed tea from the pot, while not releasing any of the tea leaves. Screens (for example an internal tea strainer) tend to block up when used, resulting in a slow trickle of too-strong tea rather than the perfect cup you brewed.

To solve this problem a hydrocyclone (enhanced gravity separator) is built into the spout of the teapot, directing the heavier tea leaves back into the pot, while allowing the lighter tea to flow back into the cup. No moving parts are required; the separation force is provided by the flowing tea itself. The circulation of the tea leaves will have the added benefit of reducing stratification in the teapot, giving more consistent cups of tea. (In fact the system would be even better suited to tea urns.)

For the coffee drinkers, such a system could replace the cafetiere (although why anyone would drink coffee when tea is available is beyond me).