How do you care for a clay teapot?

Seasoning A New Clay Teapot

Make sure you clean your new clay pot very well before you use it. There could be small dust particles lodged in the body of the pot, which we don’t want in our tea.

Cleaning brand new clay pot

1. Gently remove the wrapping
2. Rinse the teapot with warm water (no detergent), pay close attention to both the lid and the body.
3. Find a big container large enough to submerge the teapot body and teapot lid side by side. If the lid is tied to the body of the pot, just keep the lid on.
4. Line the bottom of the container with a towel, put the teapot and lid sided by side on the towel. Again, If the lid is tied to the body of the pot, just keep the lid on.
5. Fill the container with boiling water, make sure the teapot and lid are submerged (this steps ensure the small clay particles lodged in the pot can be rinsed out.)
6. Let the teapot sit in the water for 12 hours then take out the teapot and the lid.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6
8. Rinse under the sink to make sure the inside of the pot does not feel sandy. If its still sandy, repeat steps 5 & 6 again.
9. Lay it out to dry with the lid off or tilted. Once the pot is dried, it’s ready to use!

Seasoning a brand-new clay pot (Optional)

You can certainly season the pot with used tea leaves before brewing it in. Some like to use brand new tea leaves to season the pot, which is appropriate, though quite a waste. We typically use already brewed leaves.

1. (Completing steps 1-9 above) Save the leaves from your day’s brewing using other tea ware, stuff the used tea leaves into your new clay pot
2. Filled the teapot with boiling hot water
3. Remove the leaves after 12 hours.
4. Repeat for 2 more times.
5. Remove used tea leaves, rinse with warm water then lay it out to dry on a towel with the lid off or tilted.
6. Teapot is seasoned and ready to use!

Cleaning

Cleaning the teapot is easy if you follow one rule: No soap!

Clay absorbs flavors the same way it will absorb the soap like a sponge. If your soap is lavender scented, the clay pot will likely smell like lavender and brew tea with a lavender scent after.

To clean a clay pot:

1. Remove used tea leaves with your fingers, use chopsticks or bamboo tweezers if the leaves are still hot.
2. Rinse the body of the teapot and lid thoroughly with warm water for at least 20 seconds. Rub gently with your fingers to remove any stains. Pay attention to the spout area of the pot.
3. Lay out the teapot out to dry on a towel with the lid off or tilted. That’s it!