Jun 5th, '08, 13:24
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Joined: Jun 15th, '05, 21:35
Location: Norristown, PA
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jogrebe
cleaning lined yixing cups
I just got a set of 4 yixing tasting cups with a white ceramic lining inside. How does one clean these cups? I'm guessing that one treats them like a yixing pot and avoids using soap but I wanted to double check because cups unlike pots will have numerous people drinking out of it over its lifespan.
John Grebe
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis
I'm kinda curious about this as well. I just got an yixing gaiwan a couple days ago and it has the the ceramic on the inside.
My understanding has been that the lining keeps smells and flavors from being absorbed into the clay. But, I may be mistaken; I'm not too familiar with the chemistry of clays and ceramics.
My understanding has been that the lining keeps smells and flavors from being absorbed into the clay. But, I may be mistaken; I'm not too familiar with the chemistry of clays and ceramics.
Re: cleaning lined yixing cups
I wondered the same thing about the cups. I went to a tea tasting one time & it was fine to rinse the cup after each tea. However, when we left, I saw the owner rinsing the cups & putting them back in the box. Needless to say, I've not been back to a tea tasting there. Without sounding like a total germophobic, not washing a cup just seems wrong!jogrebe wrote:I just got a set of 4 yixing tasting cups with a white ceramic lining inside. How does one clean these cups? I'm guessing that one treats them like a yixing pot and avoids using soap but I wanted to double check because cups unlike pots will have numerous people drinking out of it over its lifespan.
Jun 5th, '08, 19:56
Posts: 402
Joined: Jun 15th, '05, 21:35
Location: Norristown, PA
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jogrebe
Good news just talked with BearsBearsBears and have an answer:
me: how does one properly clean lined yixing tasting cups?
BearsBearsBears: lined with porcelain?
me: yes, porcelain on the inside and yixing clay on the outside
BearsBearsBears: clean them like you normally would porcelain. the inside's not going to season
me: so its safe to use soap on them?
BearsBearsBears: i don't generally use soap. i just use a wet cloth and rinse the teaware off in hot water, but if you need to use soap, go for it.
me: the outside rim of the cup is still clay so I was concerned about it being clean for multiple users but without getting soap seasoned clay, I normally just rinse and wipe on my own but I use soap before and after when others are going to be using the cups or at least my pratice with porcelain cups
BearsBearsBears: some people say salt, vinegar, & water
me: and salt and vinegar won't impart taste to the clay when sipping tea from them?
BearsBearsBears: not if you rinse the cups with hot water after
me: that is good to know
BearsBearsBears: yeah. just dilute the vinegar enough...
me: this question came up on teachat and nobody was sure what to do and one person posted about how they no longer go to this one place after they saw the owner only rinsing the cups before putting them back into the box
BearsBearsBears: ha they should never go to china
me: right I was wondering of that was the norm in China
BearsBearsBears: in china there's a few things people do there's generally a bowl full of cups soaking in water. cups are rinsed off and put back into the bowl to soak after use, then rinsed again before serving tea or, some electric tea kettles have a little steamer section with a plastic cover, and cups are rinsed and returned there to be steamed and sanitized in that way but most places have a ton of cups and rarely a cup is used twice but if it is used twice in a day, it's usually the first method rinse, soak, rinse, serve
me: I do think some people are too obsessed with needing lots of soap on everything in the US to make it safe
BearsBearsBears: yeah. tea is naturally antibiotic... and never exposing yourself to germs is bad for your immune system
me: how does one properly clean lined yixing tasting cups?
BearsBearsBears: lined with porcelain?
me: yes, porcelain on the inside and yixing clay on the outside
BearsBearsBears: clean them like you normally would porcelain. the inside's not going to season
me: so its safe to use soap on them?
BearsBearsBears: i don't generally use soap. i just use a wet cloth and rinse the teaware off in hot water, but if you need to use soap, go for it.
me: the outside rim of the cup is still clay so I was concerned about it being clean for multiple users but without getting soap seasoned clay, I normally just rinse and wipe on my own but I use soap before and after when others are going to be using the cups or at least my pratice with porcelain cups
BearsBearsBears: some people say salt, vinegar, & water
me: and salt and vinegar won't impart taste to the clay when sipping tea from them?
BearsBearsBears: not if you rinse the cups with hot water after
me: that is good to know
BearsBearsBears: yeah. just dilute the vinegar enough...
me: this question came up on teachat and nobody was sure what to do and one person posted about how they no longer go to this one place after they saw the owner only rinsing the cups before putting them back into the box
BearsBearsBears: ha they should never go to china
me: right I was wondering of that was the norm in China
BearsBearsBears: in china there's a few things people do there's generally a bowl full of cups soaking in water. cups are rinsed off and put back into the bowl to soak after use, then rinsed again before serving tea or, some electric tea kettles have a little steamer section with a plastic cover, and cups are rinsed and returned there to be steamed and sanitized in that way but most places have a ton of cups and rarely a cup is used twice but if it is used twice in a day, it's usually the first method rinse, soak, rinse, serve
me: I do think some people are too obsessed with needing lots of soap on everything in the US to make it safe
BearsBearsBears: yeah. tea is naturally antibiotic... and never exposing yourself to germs is bad for your immune system
And no, I probably will never go to China. Africa was enough of a culture shock!
Re: cleaning lined yixing cups
If you don't like tea stains, you can use bbb's suggestion, or I like using a paste of baking powder / baking soda (suggestion of my aunt) for cleaning porcelain. You can also let it pre-soak with some water and baking powder / soda for a little beforehand.jogrebe wrote:I just got a set of 4 yixing tasting cups with a white ceramic lining inside. How does one clean these cups? I'm guessing that one treats them like a yixing pot and avoids using soap but I wanted to double check because cups unlike pots will have numerous people drinking out of it over its lifespan.
Or a wet microfiber tea cloth will sometimes take off most of the tea stains.
Jun 7th, '08, 12:57
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Putting a fair amount of baking soda in the cup, adding hot water, and letting it sit overnight for some reason seems to work. I don't hesitate to use a bleach and water solution - stain is often gone in seconds! You would just have to be careful not to let the bleach solution come into contact with the yixing on the outside of the cup.
Re: cleaning lined yixing cups
These cups can be brought to a boil. Tea seed powder is also a good disinfectant and cleaner if you can find it.jogrebe wrote:I just got a set of 4 yixing tasting cups with a white ceramic lining inside. How does one clean these cups? I'm guessing that one treats them like a yixing pot and avoids using soap but I wanted to double check because cups unlike pots will have numerous people drinking out of it over its lifespan.
I usually just rinse with very hot water and I don't let the cup sit for very long after I drink the tea from it. I severely stained some lined Tokaname's by letting them sit without rinsing after drinking Yunnan Golden Tips from them.