Fanatical Wednesday 7/09/08

[auggy]

I picked the "I have teaware issues" because I couldn't decide which other option to do. Some things get washed daily (cups), others rinsed daily but washed less frequently (pots) and others get rinsed daily but descaled infrequently (zoji).

I sometimes feel guilty because of the teaware abuse that goes on in my house. I even dishwash my china cups. But then I think about handwashing them and I get over it.

Magnolia tea this morning. Holy monkeys, is it sweet! It is like drinking tea-candy. Don't get me wrong - it's good. But it could be toned down some.

[xine]

I clean very infrequently- the most my teaware will get is a good rinse. I've been known to keep tea in the triniTEA for a week, and having to soak the carafe, steeping chamber, and infuser basket in a big tub of hot water and bleach, to make sure any mold is taken off. I'm a bit forgetful,which explains the moldy pool of Earl Grey or Golden Monkey I'll discover a week or so after last using it

TKY right now. Every day this week most likely.

[chamekke]

Because the water here is ridiculously soft, I have never had to descale my teakettle. So that makes it difficult to answer the question

In terms of cleanliness, though, I do clean my cups very thoroughly. The pots usually receive a series of rinses and perhaps a little bit of plain-water scrubbing (no soap) if the situation warrants it.

[TimeforTea]

Pretty much; I wash and descale frequently. We have hard water here.

This morning, I'm enjoying a nice mug of TKY.

[Trey Winston]

I have issues, no question. I will meticulously rinse the pot after every infusion, but after the last pour I will let it sit for days with the leaves still in it while using another pot, and so on. This often results in mold galore.
Luckily, de-scaling is not necessary (or so I have decided).

[hop_goblin]

The only vessle that I clean is my fair cup as the other stuff gets a good rinsing during the gongfu session.

[Pentox]

Eh I chose other, I descale only every few months, but I wash my cups pretty much after every session. Now that I have a dishwasher my non-porus stuff will probably be going through that quite a bit.

[henley]

Because the water here is ridiculously soft, I have never had to descale my teakettle.

Waaay on the other end of the spectrum here. We have well water that is very hard, in spite of it being filtered before it enters the house. I have to descale my kettle w/vinegar at least once a week (got that tip here--thanx!). Since my pots & cups are all porcelain or fine china, they get washed after each use. I hate to hand-wash dishes but somehow I don't mind washing my teaware. Guess the more teaware I wash means the more tea I've had.

Sal, liked your pic today & especially the second option w/the dramatic lighting.

Had Organic Monk's Blend w/bfast. Drinking Pouchong now & the rest of the afternoon.

One of my favorite teas in one of my favorite cups. This is the cup & saucer in my avatar that went to the beach w/me.

[Tadpole]

WHAT exactly is descaling??? Words like that make me worry I'm not doing things right. I normally don't leave spent tea leaves in a teapot/gaiwan. Leaves get dumped, vessel gets rinsed in hot water. Occasionally I'll dip all my stuff in suds and rinse really well (no, I don't have any yixing, so nobody choke on their tea ok?)

San Ling Xi this morning at work (my last day at craptastic old job, yay!). I have it brewing in a Finum basket in my big ceramic mug that says "Rainforest Cafe" on the side. I finally figured out how not to stew this tea with too-hot water. Yum, today it's really sweet, fruity, veggie-protein thickness, and slightly buttery. At work I usually don't pour off the first steep/wash, so the caffeine gives me a tingly buzzy feeling in my head. It does make me appear to be more awake than I really am.

[Pentox]

WHAT exactly is descaling??? Words like that make me worry I'm not doing things right. I normally don't leave spent tea leaves in a teapot/gaiwan. Leaves get dumped, vessel gets rinsed in hot water. Occasionally I'll dip all my stuff in suds and rinse really well (no, I don't have any yixing, so nobody choke on their tea ok?)

Descaling at least from the context that I do it, is for my zoji pot (hot water air pot device which keeps water at a nice temp for tea) after time and water it gets mineral deposit buildup, like you see on the ends of faucets and the like from the water. Descaling is the process by which to remove these deposits. It cleans them off and makes it all shiny and new again.

[Ti]

Mine gets cleaned out pretty quick after I use it.

I'm slugging down puerh 'camel breath'. I started making tea stronger (more tea to water ratio) since reading this site and I think it tastes better.

[augie]

>>Are you fanatical about cleaning your teaware?<<

bahahahahahaaa! I rinse after each use, cups that can go into the dishwasher. Sometimes stuff gets rinsed with boiling water . . .
I have 3 kids and a basset hound with screaming, global thermo-nuclear diarrhea. I don't have time to be anal retentive.

Enjoying a cup of Rishi Wuyi that I picked up at Whole Foods. Goes great with Greek yogurt

[Pentox]

global thermo-nuclear diarrhea.

... I'm sorry to hear that. Please don't start nuclear winter

[geeber1]

Henley, I love your cup and saucer. Is that coleus on the side? Beautiful!

I wash or rinse stuff, but would say I'm not fanatical.

Iced ginger peach this morning.

[scruffmcgruff]

I don't have time to be anal retentive.

Apparently your dog doesn't either!