Coffee – Can a loose leaf tea basket be used for steeping/brewing coffee

The differences in quality between teas is usually down to the manufacturer and the product line. As far as I can tell, there is no discernible difference between Twining's English Breakfast tea (for instance) in bags or loose leaf. They are the same leaves, presented differently.

However, and this is the important part, there is a difference in how they infuse. Because of the limitations of the tea bag, and the flow of the water through the leaves, a loose-leaf tea is usually infused more quickly, and possibly better. That is, you get more essence of tea from the leaves into the water. There are different bag designs (pyramid bags for example) which try to bridge some of this gap.

The advantage of the tea bags is that they are easier to work with, as you don't need to strain the leaves out of the water, you can just pick the bag up with your spoon.

There is a lovely essay by George Orwell about making "proper" tea. Some of it is a matter of taste, but his point about the infusion is spot on, in my opinion.

If I understand your description, it sounds as if water is flowing into the basket more quickly than it is flowing out. This could require adjusting the nozzle feeding the basket or the dispenser on the basket; probably the former, from your description of how soon after brewing the problem starts. Is there any way to slow down the inflow?

According to the Bunn troubleshooting guide, it is also possible that the coffee is too finely ground, or that the filter is not as permeable as it should be - naturally, Bunn recommends you use their brand of filters, and if you aren't, that's an easy thing to try. They also suggest that the sprayhead may be missing (it could also just be loose), and that you avoid finely ground coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and soft water.