Yeah, personal preferences and feelings are what they are, no debating that.

You really don’t need to wash the infuser though. Even less than a french press. It doesn’t have that coil thing that may trap gunk, or leave scratches on the inside of the glass, just stainless steel.

And you don’t really have to pay attention to the amount of tea. Bag of tea, infuser, point bag at infuser and shake until the infuser is somewhere over bottom-covered but under half-full. Yes, you -can- get way more precise than that, but you don’t have to. And just like you learn if you want one or two bags, or steep it for a short or long time, eventually you just know.

Teabags don’t even come with their own holder. So you have to be aware of that cooling, coalescing gunk on a saucer the whole time you sip in your cup. A cold used teabag is one of the most unpleasant things in a middle-class household, whereas cold tea leaves are just wet plant stuff.

Also jin jun mei alone is 100% worth it, and the variety of oolongs doubly so.