How do you clean an yixing pot?

[ouch]

Yixing pots, or what my daughter likes to call "Dad's teeny teapots made from magic dirt", are terrific for brewing oolong, and, as I've recently discovered, perfect for pu'er.

How do you clean them? If you're from the "the pot will absorb the flavors of the tea and improve with age" school of thought, you may want to rub your finger around the inside of the pot and have a look. Yuck!

Is it a good idea to boil them out every so often?

 

[Proinsias]

I just give them a rinse or two with boiling water after each use and leave the lid off for a day or two.

For cleaning up old pots or for preparing a pot for a new life with a different tea I've heard that soaking in denture sterilizing tablets works well, mainly from people of a western persuasion. Those of a more eastern persuasion seem to have no qualms about soaking the pot in bleach for a bit. Attacking the pot with a toothbrush is also popular whichever method is used.

I've prepared a few new pots by boiling them with a good dollop of the tea I intend to brew in them for a few hours, this might be a reasonable middle ground.

 

[Scotto]

Hmmm, mine only see water and tea. They get a beautiful patina that way. Besides, you wouldn't expect a place like China to have any chemicals around, would you?

 

[joel]

I put boiling water in the empty pot - let it sit for 5 minutes or so, then rub the inside with a cotton cloth/hand towel. If it's particularly gnarly, i'll lightly take a scotch pad or sponge to it. (Note: I have a dedicated, labeled sponge for each pot, so it's never used on another - and the sponge is never used for household cleaning!)

Hope this helps

 

[ouch]

I've always boiled them before their first use, and rinse with hot/boiling water before air drying them, but they still seem to acquire more than a patina after a while. Didn't think of the scotch brite idea- I may have to check it out for a particularly gnarly, plain Jane pot I have that's seen better days.

 

[joel]

I've always boiled them before their first use, and rinse with hot/boiling water before air drying them, but they still seem to acquire more than a patina after a while. Didn't think of the scotch brite idea- I may have to check it out for a particularly gnarly, plain Jane pot I have that's seen better days.

If it's REALLY bad, and REALLY gnarly (this is pretty rare if you're keeping up with the cloth, sponge, scotch brite) I've had success taking a bit of clean sand - and using that with the scotch brite will get 'er clean mighty quick. The neat thing about the sand is that you can modulate it's abrasiveness by how much pressure you're putting on the scotchbrite or the sponge. I usually use VERY light pressure.

The sand will not impart any taste, and it will make short work of any buildup.

 

[Proinsias]

On a very similar note to the sand idea I clean my animals' water bottles by putting a little washed rice in with a little hot water and shake it all about. The green mildew and god knows what other scum builds up there vanishes in seconds.

 

[Jim]

Jay would you recommend a Yixing pot over the Gawain for brewing Pu'er?

I have neither at the moment so...

 

[joel]

On a very similar note to the sand idea I clean my animals' water bottles by putting a little washed rice in with a little hot water and shake it all about. The green mildew and god knows what other scum builds up there vanishes in seconds.

I'm sure the rice would be better - unless it was a really gnarly yixing.

 

[joel]

Jay would you recommend a Yixing pot over the Gawain for brewing Pu'er?

I have neither at the moment so...

I'm not Jay - but i'd say get the Yixing. I hate Gawain's for Pu'er. Gawain's are simply outstanding for a nice green though. In short, get both.

 

[Wisdom]

I was told never to scrub a Yi-Xing Teapot and soap is entirely out of the question.. I use hot or boiling water to clean it.. there will be some discoloration and staining from the tea, but this is a sign of a well "seasoned" Teapot.
-\Visdom

 

[Jim]

I'm not Jay - but i'd say get the Yixing. I hate Gawain's for Pu'er. Gawain's are simple outstanding for a nice green though. In short, get both.

Thanks Joel.

 

[joel]

I was told never to scrub a Yi-Xing Teapot and soap is entirely out of the question.. I use hot or boiling water to clean it.. there will be some discoloration and staining from the tea, but this is a sign of a well "seasoned" Teapot.
-\Visdom

I was told that as well... but after 4-5 years of daily use, they get pretty nasty.

 

[ouch]

Jay would you recommend a Yixing pot over the Gawain for brewing Pu'er?

I have neither at the moment so...

Mind you, I'm only several months into the pu'er obsession, but have been using yixings for oolong for over a decade.

Overall, I'd say the yixing is better than the gaiwan. Where the gaiwan excels is in its ability to provide lightning fast infusions- virtually instantaneous. This may come in handy if you're using the massive leaf to water ratios of some of the tuff guys here like Hobbes, Joel, or Scotto.

Amazingly, even though the yixing pots are small (or tiny, based on your perspective) the speed of the pour is a major consideration, as it represents a significant portion of the steep time. Even a small pot with a very fast pour rate can't compete with a gaiwan in this regard. However, after the second infusion or so this point becomes moot, as the steep times increase, sometimes drastically.

 

[Jim]

Mind you, I'm only several months into the pu'er obsession, but have been using yixings for oolong for over a decade.

Overall, I'd say the yixing is better than the gaiwan. Where the gaiwan excels is in its ability to provide lightning fast infusions- virtually instantaneous. This may come in handy if you're using the massive leaf to water ratios of some of the tuff guys here like Hobbes, Joel, or Scotto.

Amazingly, even though the yixing pots are small (or tiny, based on your perspective) the speed of the pour is a major consideration, as it represents a significant portion of the steep time. Even a small pot with a very fast pour rate can't compete with a gaiwan in this regard. However, after the second infusion or so this point becomes moot, as the steep times increase, sometimes drastically.

So the nuts and bolts of the proccess is the steep times?

 

[sehrgut]

denture sterilizing tablets works well, mainly from people of a western persuasion. Those of a more eastern persuasion seem to have no qualms about soaking the pot in bleach for a bit

Bleach is a much friendlier chemical -- an much less likely to leave any off flavours in the porous clay -- than any compounded sterilizing product. Household bleach is sodium hypochlorite, which decomposes to sodium chloride (i.e. table salt) upon drying. Dry bleaches of the sort that are in denture tablets are more stable compounds, and thus might hang around the clay longer. (To say nothing of whatever other ingredients might be present.)

 

[Suzuki]

So the nuts and bolts of the proccess is the steep times?

One of the many moving parts - I'm no expert, but I've found that water leaf-to-water ratio is a pretty big variable.

If you use a lot of leaves, as Jay says, steep time is especially critical, as even a few extra seconds for the first 2 - 3 brews can mean the difference between a great cup and something nasty and bitter.

The other nice thing about a yixing or any other small teapot is that you're not going to make a mess, which you likely will with a gaiwan. I just got a gaiwan and the first couple of uses were a complete balls up.

I'm looking to buy an inexpensive, fast-pouring yixing - anyone have recommendations for a good source?

 

[Howard Newell]

Bleach is a much friendlier chemical -- an much less likely to leave any off flavours in the porous clay -- than any compounded sterilizing product. Household bleach is sodium hypochlorite, which decomposes to sodium chloride (i.e. table salt) upon drying.

Hm, maybe I was asleep in chem class, but could you show me the reactions of hypochlorite breaking down into NaCl?

 

[Hobbesoxon]

Yixing pots, or what my daughter likes to call "Dad's teeny teapots made from magic dirt", are terrific for brewing oolong, and, as I've recently discovered, perfect for pu'er.

How do you clean them? If you're from the "the pot will absorb the flavors of the tea and improve with age" school of thought, you may want to rub your finger around the inside of the pot and have a look. Yuck!

Is it a good idea to boil them out every so often?

I'm surprised that anything unpleasant would grow in the pots - are you seeing mildew growing inside? I've been using the same core pots for many years, and haven't seen any growth - they just get darker with tea deposits. Are you airing them well after use? After using a pot, I keep its lid ajar to let the air in, and keep it that way for two days.

One thing we've been doing at home is rationalising our collection of pots, and we're down to about six now - but six really good ones. For example, we use the same pot for yancha and roasted tieguanyin, whereas previously we used two pots. This smaller number of core pots means that each gets used more frequently, so perhaps that helps in keeping everythnig fresh.

Remember that the rinse with boiling water prior to starting a session is going to kill anything left alive in there.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

P.s. Avoid putting rice in your teapot, unless you like the taste of rice! We also avoid cleaners, but we're probably too fastidious in avoiding chemicals. I know some teafolk, on buying a dirty pot (e.g., from the notoriously dirty "5000friend" eBay shop), sometimes use denture cleaner, but that's horrifying to me. Guang (of Houde) used ultrasound cleaning!

 

[Hobbesoxon]

P.p.s. Maximum credit for using "an Yixing"! You must be pronouncing it correctly ;D