Today's MatchaWan :D (new name, but tea's the same)

[Victoria]

Ack!! Soaking in bleach????? I would not recommend that even as a last resort. I would opt for making a baking soda paste before I'd go that far.
I know on another thread someone also mentioned baking in the oven. I'd try that too before bleach.

[Seeker]

Some of you need to get those bubbles much smaller.

Hi TO,
I wonder if you might be willing to share an image of appropriately small bubbles with us? That'd be cool, and hopefully we'll get to see some of the chawan too?
Oooo, it'd be really cool if you could share some notes on technique for achieving appropriately small bubbles.
I've heard this before about small bubbles, and sometimes that this property could be attributed to the quality of the matcha. But I don't know.
I'd love to hear any masterful opinions or experienced matcha-ites thoughts on this.

Time to prepare the days matcha!

[JBaymore]

Likely the smell is organic in orign. (If not...... you likely have a REAL problem). The source of that organic stinky stuff should be susceptible to being destroyed by high temperatures.

Put the bowl in the home oven at about 200 F for four or five hours. During that time... it likely will smell pretty bad for a while. That is OK ....you are just trying to make sure that you get all of the water the piece has absorbed out of the tiny pores in the clay body. Don't rush this part...... unless you want a cracked bowl. And don't go over 212F (100C) on this step (boiling point of water). This part will not kill the mold/ bacteria causing the smell. Then shove that bowl into a oven with a "self clean" option. Turn the oven to "clean". Let it run.

As a piece of fired ceramic, the realtively low temperature that the home oven will reach will not harm the piece. Unless it has been treated with something other than the original firing..... in which case you'd really want to know that; paint and otehr additions can be toxic in food applications.

best,

................john

[Victoria]

Seeker, I want to say, that I am really enjoying this thread. It was a great idea and a perfect niche for you. Let the focus be on the "daily matcha", just casual, as you started it and intended. Don't allow yourself to feel pressure to present a perfect picture. I know you are striving to improve, but every shot is enjoyable to look at and we are enjoying the ride.

Besides, I plan on submiting many more of my not so great pics!
Ha!

[Seeker]

Hello everyone,
I am sorry I can't take pics of this irabo chawan in action... my photographer's skills are very bad

Hi J - your photos look fine, just fine. And thanks for sharing!!!

I just post it because it is one of my favorite ones, but I can't get rid of a smell it has, like something which has been stored for a long time. I tried to soak it in cold, warm and hot water, but the smell is still there. Any suggestion?

J - ohhh, I am soooo sorry to hear that. Must be very disappointing! I've had a couple of chawan that had a smell - for me I would describe as "clay dust" smell. (But then I think we all have different sensibilities with smell ).
I really like what Victoria said (I've probably gotten some advice about this from her in the past).
I acheived eventual success by soaking completely submerged in tap water for long periods - sometimes 48 hours; sometimes I had to repeat this several times. I've also used my Tersano Lotus food sanitizing system to help the process sometimes (a system that creates a bowl of ozonated water for washing produce and food and some eating/drinking utensils - BTW - this is how some municipalities purify municipal water, they don't use a Tersano Lotus tho ).
A ceramicist recommended to me once to bake a chawan at 400f for several hours (I baked at 400f for 3 hours). This helped a lot. It altered the odor from a "clay dust" smell to a sort of "burnt/spent firework" sort of magnesium smell that was more subtle, but then another soak followed by a single batch of matcha and the odor was gone! Yay! Hang in there, be persistent.
[quote = "Victoria"]Ack!! Soaking in bleach????? I would not recommend that even as a last resort. I would opt for making a baking soda paste before I'd go that far[/quote]
I agree!!!
DON"T USE BLEACH or SOAP!!! -- Especially with Raku as it is porous (not vitrified in the firing process due to lower firing temps). I've wondered about using a baking powder paste, but thus far have not ever tried that. But it is worth considering for sure. Perhaps some combination of these things will cleanse your chawan.
It is a lovely chawan, and I sincerely hope you achieve success.
Keep us posted?
I wish you good luck!
Now, to that matcha!
edit/addition - JB's post came in as I was writing this - he is a ceramics artist - I really like what he said. I also like what I said because my process resulted in a clean/neutral smelling chawan (which is one of my favs BTW), but I am in no way a ceramicist. I encourage you to try what JB said, perhaps even combine several of the ideas here (NOT THE BLEACH tho) and persist. Persevere!
Also - if all this seems just too painful, you are within your rights (IMO) to contact the seller and request refund. Both the chawan I had smell issues with, the artists immediately offered refund and/or replacement with another chawan. So perhaps this is worth considering. I can imagine that not all of us want to go thru the preparation/cleansing process some tea wares demand.
In each of my cases - I wanted to engage the process because I loved the chawan so much. And each time I was rewarded with a great chawan free of odor. Again - Good Luck!

[Seeker]

Today's matcha, and I'm learning with the camera, so I apologize for the weird pics.
Today, Kaoru Supreme from o (mmm, tasting Nori in the matcha today - typically I don't like 'seaweedy', but, hmmm, reconsidering... maybe a little? Hmmm - toasty-seaweed notes aren't so bad...).
In Shyrabbit's amazing "Red" (I apologize for not knowing how to capture and convey this chawan's magnificence... yet).



Cheers!

[Geekgirl]

Pics are good Seeker, check your white balance, that's the only real issue with these photos. Your matcha froth looks good too.

Here's yesterday's froth. I drank all the matcha. I remembered to grab a shot while I was working on the aperture post.



and full frontal (looks like I forgot my own advice, front lip of the bowl is slightly out of focus. grrrr...)

[Seeker]

OH, OH, OH, OH...
GG -- I... LOVE... THAT... CHAWAN!!!!!!!
I had my eye on that one, and hesitated, and hesitated, and waited.
Wow!
I'm so glad to see it making a visit here!! So very glad!!!
Hi Cory Lum summer chawan! Welcome!
Gorgeous! And talk about wonderful froth GG! Woh.
Yeah - used the S2IS today, and learning about its white balance. Looked in the manual - noticed two flourescent settings - I chose one, probably should've chosen the other. No time today to re-shoot, etc. Learning as I go.
I just love your shots. I aspire. Humble thanks.

[Jayaratna]

Did you buy this from Sakura-Zipang on ebay?

No, it was from an auctioner that has some bowls from time to time. I trust him, because I have bought other bowls from him and they are just fine.

In fact I would not like to part with this chawan: it is so nice. I haven't tried hard to get rid of the smell and I have kept it in its box. Now I have boiled it, and I will try Victoria's suggestions (thanks a lot, Victoria). Let's see if they work, otherwise I will go for John's ones (thank you too, even if I am not very much inclined in putting bowls in the oven, I am really afraid it could crack... Maybe a good idea would be to steam cooking it instead?). And, Seeker (many thanks), yes, I will persevere and combine all the proposed methods (except bleaching) if the first attempts do not work.

I will keep you informed on how the thing goes.

Thank you all a lot for now.

A

[Chip]

it is so nice. I haven't tried hard to get rid of the smell and I have kept it in its box.

It could even be the wood box imparting the odor since you are keeping it in the box.

[TIM]

I am in Love! That's a soulful vessel you got there Geekgirl Just Beautiful! T

[Chip]

Yeah, so shuweet Geek and Seeker. I was watching the Cory Chawan one real closely, then poof.

[JBaymore]

......otherwise I will go for John's ones (thank you too, even if I am not very much inclined in putting bowls in the oven, I am really afraid it could crack... Maybe a good idea would be to steam cooking it instead?).

If you follow the drying part of the thing I already posted, it should not crack. The one other "detail" is to put it into the oven and thne let the oven heat up. Don't pre-heat the oven and then stick the chawan into the pre-heated oven! Let the chawan and the oven heat up together. That will minimize the thermal stresses on the piece. You could even leave the piece in the 200F oven for the required period... and then set it to "clean" without removing the bowl at all. That likely would be the best overall strategy.

best,

.....................john

[Tead Off]

Some of you need to get those bubbles much smaller.

Hi TO,
I wonder if you might be willing to share an image of appropriately small bubbles with us? That'd be cool, and hopefully we'll get to see some of the chawan too?
Oooo, it'd be really cool if you could share some notes on technique for achieving appropriately small bubbles.
I've heard this before about small bubbles, and sometimes that this property could be attributed to the quality of the matcha. But I don't know.
I'd love to hear any masterful opinions or experienced matcha-ites thoughts on this.

Time to prepare the days matcha!

Hey, I said this tongue in cheek. I'm no position to instruct. I'm not even a fan of matcha, just like the teaware. Ask Chip, he seems to know everything.

[Tead Off]

Likely the smell is organic in orign. (If not...... you likely have a REAL problem). The source of that organic stinky stuff should be susceptible to being destroyed by high temperatures.

Put the bowl in the home oven at about 200 F for four or five hours. During that time... it likely will smell pretty bad for a while. That is OK ....you are just trying to make sure that you get all of the water the piece has absorbed out of the tiny pores in the clay body. Don't rush this part...... unless you want a cracked bowl. And don't go over 212F (100C) on this step (boiling point of water). This part will not kill the mold/ bacteria causing the smell. Then shove that bowl into a oven with a "self clean" option. Turn the oven to "clean". Let it run.

As a piece of fired ceramic, the realtively low temperature that the home oven will reach will not harm the piece. Unless it has been treated with something other than the original firing..... in which case you'd really want to know that; paint and otehr additions can be toxic in food applications.

best,

................john

In the case of my raku, I tried boiling water and soaking for long periods of time. Nothing. I then tried a baking soda paste covering the whole bowl with a snowy mixture and letting it sit for 2 days. This helped but did not eliminate the odor when hot water was added. That is when I tried the bleach and this seems to have worked better than all. But, it didn't eliminate it, just lessened it. Of course, after bleaching, it needs to be resoaked in hot water and baking soda. The smell is now faint but too noticeable for drinking out of. What to do?