pewter caddies

[trent]

So... I just got a late 19th century pewter caddy, and will be using it to store some 2004 oolong (it's something like TKY, long story about what it really is). I read on life of tea (http://www.lifeoftea.com/canisters.php) that they line tin caddies with paper.

Do I need to do the same?

[murrius]

I'm no expert on these things but the older the pewter, the more likely it is made from an alloy of tin and lead. Lead of course can be a problem if it comes into contact with things we eat.

[brandon]

Lead can be leached with boiling water, but it doesn't just flake off from your tea tin and into your tea.

[Deleted User #17777]

Hi

I have a 19th C Chinese pewter tea caddy, and I would not actually use it for tea, as the pewter inside has a bit of oxidation, powerdery, which probably has a high lead content. The pewter is much softer than the newer one.

The other one pictured is "contemporary" ( looks mid 20th C), and the pewter is very hard, a finger nail could not dent or scrape this one. It looks much safer - like actual "food grade" type of material.

While authentic is fun, I would errr on the side of safety. You can buy lead testers for $10-15 that test the surface of any material.

[TokyoB]

So... I just got a late 19th century pewter caddy, and will be using it to store some 2004 oolong (it's something like TKY, long story about what it really is). I read on life of tea (http://www.lifeoftea.com/canisters.php) that they line tin caddies with paper.

Do I need to do the same?

How about a photo?

[MarshalN]

Aaron's rationale is that the metal comes into contact with the tea and will lead to the tea changing in undesirable ways, thus the paper. I actually don't think a piece of paper will do anything to help and is probably more placebo than anything else.

As for your question -- it depends entirely on the condition of the caddy itself. If it's dirty inside, cleaning it is almost impossible and you're better off just keeping it around for fun. So far I only use the ones with very high tin purity to actually store tea -- the other ones are just for fun.

[Herb_Master]

Strange

So far I only use the ones with very high tin purity to actually store tea -- the other ones are just for fun.

Presumably modern high quality ones are suitable for storing tea!

Such as the very expensive Royal Selangor ones that keep attracting my attention

http://www.royalselangor.com/rs2/produc ... tSKU=4471G

Stranger still!

[Chip]

Weird, I cannot get your post to show up. I see nothing there that would prevent it from posting.

[Herb_Master]

Weird, I cannot get your post to show up. I see nothing there that would prevent it from posting.

Not certain because I edited twice, but may have been a missing opening bracket on the closing/url