A Tea Addict's Journal

Baths

May 20, 2011 · 8 Comments

Remember this little fellow?

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He took a bath

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My repair job really isn’t so good — I need to probably re-glue the handle somehow.  The pot now returned to its original state.  The clay is quite rough, with a lot of sand in it.  It even smells sandy.  I know some people wonder why I would clean a pot that is already seasoned so well, but I have to say I enjoy the process of giving each of the pots its patina myself — it’s part of the process of raising a pot and making it my own (and in a sick way, so is the process of damaging them).  So, all my pots, when they arrive, take baths, eventually before I start using them.

I also cleaned another fellow

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This pot has a very fine clay — almost the direct opposite of the first one, and has a very nice shine already even after cleaning.  The only problem is it doesn’t pour so well, and is prone to slow pours.  Oh well, nobody is perfect.

Categories: Objects
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8 responses so far ↓

  • ABx // May 20, 2011 at 1:53 am | Reply

    What do you use to clean them; what’s in the baths?

    • MarshalN // May 20, 2011 at 6:47 pm | Reply

      Diluted bleach

      • Alex // June 5, 2011 at 3:39 am | Reply

        What kind of bleach do you use? Are you sure it is safe?
        Does it help to get rid of smell?
        Thanks 🙂

        • MarshalN // June 5, 2011 at 12:21 pm | Reply

          Just regular bleach – Clorox or store brand, no scent, of course. Yes, it’s quite safe. Bleach washes away easily and if you feel uneasy, you can soak it in regular water after washing.

          It gets rids of all kinds of nasty smells.

          • Alex // June 5, 2011 at 2:37 pm

            Thank you. I will definitely try to clean up my old teapot which I almost gave up beacuse of smell and taste.

  • PHILIPPE RECORDEAU // May 21, 2011 at 2:36 pm | Reply

    Great job cleaning these teapots.
    I also like my proper patina.
    The second clay has obviously been well nourished by the good essences of tea

    Best Regards.

    . PHILIPPE .

  • Jesse // May 25, 2011 at 10:53 am | Reply

    Now this is interesting.
    I’ve been thinking about new and seasoned clay-pots, I would like to do comparative tests. Of course, it’s difficult, one would need two identical pots, use only one of them for a long time, and then do a comparison. But if it’s really possible to effectively clean a clay pot, which is something I’ve never considered, test would be much easier. Well, thus far I’ve been more than happy with glass pots, I feel like tasting the tea instead of the pot. I don’t have much experience with clay pots, so it’s easy for me to defend glass!

  • ZeroTeaZen // November 16, 2014 at 8:04 am | Reply

    I must admit I liked the pot before the cleaning more than afterwards. If it would have been my teapot I would have just washed it out with boiling water a couple of times and then used it. Anyway you did a nice job to get it that new looking again despite my personal liking 😉

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