TeaChat

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone has accumulated white stains inside their yixing teapots. After using, I rinse and dry. My initial thoughts were of mold.. but perhaps it is mineral deposits left behind from the water? Has anyone else encountered such staining? I'd like to hear your thoughts. I will post images of two different teapots exhibiting such stains.

Probably just scale from the mineral content of your water.

That's what I think as well. Have you ever had similar staining?

Sammerz314 wrote:That's what I think as well. Have you ever had similar staining?

Not on my teaware, just the kettle. But, I've seen it in teapots. Do you use straight tap water?

I do. I used to use bottled water but over time it became tedious. I suppose the high mineral content of tap water is responsible.

Mineral content would be my guess or deposits from Jingmai puerh samples.... just kidding! Glad you are on here also. Lots of info.

Mineral scale's nothing to be too worried about. Give it a brush with a soft cloth every once in a while to make sure it's not building up too crazy and it'll be perfectly fine.

M.

Sammerz314 wrote:I do. I used to use bottled water but over time it became tedious. I suppose the high mineral content of tap water is responsible.

Buy yourself a Zero Water pitcher. They work great and come with a water tester so you know when to change the filter.

AllanK wrote:

Sammerz314 wrote:I do. I used to use bottled water but over time it became tedious. I suppose the high mineral content of tap water is responsible.

Buy yourself a Zero Water pitcher. They work great and come with a water tester so you know when to change the filter.

A good idea is to test your filtered water for its ph. Anything less than 7 doesn't feel good in my mouth. The Brita filters were the worst for me. They lowered my tap water from 7 to 6ph. I have no idea why.

I think it has to do with the source of your water having one of the chlorinating agents, and brita filters causing hydrochloric acid to form in small amounts.

It doesn't look sanitized inside, make sure you rinse with hot water every time you use the pot.

This is how my pots would look if i didn't use Brita Filters - water in this region contains a large amount of minerals. And they somehow combine with the tea to form these brown stains that are really hard to remove, and of course the white crystals especially in the kettle.

I don't have them because i'm filtering the water, even though I don't like the idea of further 'denuaturalizing' the water by running it trough the Brita filter. But i was worried that these stains might in the long run clog the Zisha pots and take away their special characteristics... do you folks konw whether thats a real danger?

miig wrote:This is how my pots would look if i didn't use Brita Filters - water in this region contains a large amount of minerals. And they somehow combine with the tea to form these brown stains that are really hard to remove, and of course the white crystals especially in the kettle.

I don't have them because i'm filtering the water, even though I don't like the idea of further 'denuaturalizing' the water by running it trough the Brita filter. But i was worried that these stains might in the long run clog the Zisha pots and take away their special characteristics... do you folks konw whether thats a real danger?

I used Brita filters for years. They do a good job preventing scale in the kettles. But, until I changed my filtration system, I realized the water from Brita didn't taste as good and this had something to do with the lower ph. Most public water systems have chlorine added to the supply. If you're lucky enough to have tap water without added chlorine, and no other 'additives', I don't think this is going to affect teapots. I've never developed scale in any teapot nor any odd staining other than tea. Of course, each drinker must evaluate his/her water and decide if its suitable for tea or needs tweaking.

I also usually pour boiling water into my empty teapots before any tea session. This is a very hygienic step and keeps the pot from developing any bacterial problems.

I think I will simply go back to bottled water. I buy 12 packs of 1.4 L bottles for about 4 dollars, so its not too bad.

Thanks Ted, no there's no chlorine in the water here.
I wasn't worried for hygienic purposes, but since these stains are so tedious I was afraid they might 'lock up' the pores in the clay. The water tastes better without filtering, but as I said, theres a large amount of chalky deposits in the kettle and teaware very quickly.

And i won't buy bottled water because I feel sorry for mother nature... there's no alternative to have the tea flown here, but the transporting of the water.. somehow I wouldn't feel to well about it.