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Dec 31st, '12, 16:42
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Boiling new teaware?

by FiveStar » Dec 31st, '12, 16:42

Being a noob, I've been perusing around the forum and noticing that some folks speak of boiling new teaware. Does this remove some taste left behind from firing?

I recently purchased a Yunomi from a local artist named Akira Satake. Beautiful woodfired piece! They were fresh from the kiln, I assume, because there were still ashes on the inside when I was admiring it. I simply rinsed it well with hot water, and haven't noticed any strange taste so far, but maybe I'm missing something...

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Dec 31st, '12, 16:50
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by blairswhitaker » Dec 31st, '12, 16:50

some unglazed clay has a strong odor, sometimes their is a storage smell on older pots, and some pots need to be "seasoned" (this usually includes boiling with some actual tea.). Most people boil Yixing pots and I know of a few people in japan who boil their kyusu with some sencha leaves. I have personally made a lot of woodfire work and for some pieces with really porous clay a boil with tea leaves was very helpful in getting rid of the "kiln smell". However most things fired in a woodfire Kiln and contacting the fly ash ( I am guessing the yunomi you have was if their was ash in it.) do not need to be boiled a good rinse should take care of it. If it is glazed as I suspect your piece may be then then a boiling treatment would be completely unnecessary.

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Dec 31st, '12, 17:08
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by AdamMY » Dec 31st, '12, 17:08

Rinses sometimes work, but what is usually fool proof is a long soak (overnight if not a full 24 hours) completely submerged in water. That works for 99% of pieces.

I did have one set of very stubborn Hagi yaki pieces, which actually required boiling, but that is the exception not the rule. For most Japanese pieces to remove firing or storage odor, a rinse or an extended soak is often sufficient.

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Dec 31st, '12, 18:08
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by blairswhitaker » Dec 31st, '12, 18:08

+ 1 to Adam's comments, a Good soak can go a long way, but if you don't taste anything negative in the cup then really you have nothing to worry about. With those hagi pieces they are often made of VERY porous clay. We would love to see a photo of your new Yunomi as well!

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Dec 31st, '12, 21:38
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by wyardley » Dec 31st, '12, 21:38

I am more likely to boil a used pot than a new one.

Usually, it probably isn't super necessary.

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Dec 31st, '12, 22:43
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by TIM » Dec 31st, '12, 22:43

I always boil a newly acquired pot no matter new or used. Just to be safe. Most of the time, I will see a thin layer of 'oil' on the boiled water. A peace of mind and I'm funny like that. Imagine I skip that part after years of love and care and find out something otherwise? Happy New Year!

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Dec 31st, '12, 23:21
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by Tead Off » Dec 31st, '12, 23:21

Yes, I do the same as Tim. Better to be safe about anything that might have come in contact with the teapot. I will start out with the pot submerged in cold water and then bring it to a gently boil. I would not submerge some pots into boiling water. Danger of cracking thin walled teapots. 15 minute gentle boil should do the trick. I keep the lid off the teapot (of course) but boil it too.

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Jan 1st, '13, 01:32
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by bagua7 » Jan 1st, '13, 01:32

Same as Tead Off and TIM, boil the pot for around 60min...but progressively not dumping the poor thing in boiling water. I also let the pot cool off afterwards until the water is cold enough to stick my hands in.

HNY too! :)

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Jan 1st, '13, 03:46
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by ImmortaliTEA » Jan 1st, '13, 03:46

TIM wrote:I always boil a newly acquired pot no matter new or used. Just to be safe. Most of the time, I will see a thin layer of 'oil' on the boiled water. A peace of mind and I'm funny like that. Imagine I skip that part after years of love and care and find out something otherwise? Happy New Year!
Tim,
What do you think the possible negative effects from not boiling new yixing pots could be? This I am very curious about because I can't decide which I like better. I've boiled many of my pots but not all and there is a slight flavor difference that comes out in the tea for the first 10 or so uses of a new pot if that pot was not boiled and was just immediately used for brewing (after only a rinse with tap water instead of boiling). The reasons why I've neglected to boil a few of my pots is because of two reasons: 1) I truly enjoy that taste difference I spoke about above (even if it only lasts about 6-10 uses of the pot before it starts tasting like any other boiled pot's tea) and 2) I was curious about how/if the porosity is directly affected by boiling and if there is a possibility of making the clay less porous because the "tiny airpockets" inside the clay might become clogged with TDS from the boiled water or something of that nature. I would greatly appreciate your experience on this one Tim. Thanks!

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Jan 1st, '13, 17:23
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by TIM » Jan 1st, '13, 17:23

I don't know what is the negative effects of not cleaning (boiling) a new tea ware. Just like I would not use or let my house guest use a brand new bath towel without washing it first. If there is a character which present in the first 5 to 6 brew from a new pot and that character disappear afterwards, I am not too sure if that's a good thing? What do you thing? Do you enjoy that character? And why?

Boiling will release the trapped 'dirt', not trapping more. Like making chicken broth. Boiling a chicken will make good chicken soup, not adding to the chicken itself? IMHO.

http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... ixing.html
Last edited by TIM on Jan 2nd, '13, 12:47, edited 1 time in total.

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Jan 2nd, '13, 12:02
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by gasninja » Jan 2nd, '13, 12:02

It's kind of common sense but if you boil a zhuni hong ni or any high fired yixing make sure you let it cool down gradually .
If you where to say boil the pot and take it out of the boiling water and run it in cool water to make it easier to handle. That is a good way to find out what you pot looks like with a crack in it.

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Jan 2nd, '13, 13:57
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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by gingkoseto » Jan 2nd, '13, 13:57

I think boiling is a good idea. But I'm too lazy to do it most of the time. :P Usually for porous ware, I will let it "take shower" next to my teapot in use during my tea drinking in several weeks. This way I don't have to spend extra time and could have enough time to play with it :D

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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by beecrofter » Jan 3rd, '13, 12:59

Boiling might just loosen up the shoe polish, and the Chinese are sure fond of faking something to gain an extra dollar.

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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by Chip » Jan 3rd, '13, 13:05

beecrofter wrote:Boiling might just loosen up the shoe polish, and the Chinese are sure fond of faking something to gain an extra dollar.
... might have been ... better to say there are always Chinese that sure are fond of faking something to gain an extra dollar. Not all Chinese are this way.

But this is true for almost all countries anyway. Right?

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Re: Boiling new teaware?

by hopeofdawn » Jan 3rd, '13, 14:56

I know I tend to boil anything I get off of Ebay, just because who knows how long it's been sitting in storage/someone's closet? But for brand new wares from the artist, I don't usually bother--a quick rinse and I'm good to go.

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