I believe there are many Tea enthusiasts who love their purple clay Teapots, but not all of them know how to protect them. The maintenance of a purple clay Teapot is particularly important.
This is not only because of its collectible value but also because it has practical uses, so you should take good care of your purple clay teapot.
Fear of Dropping
Purple clay teapots are especially afraid of being dropped.
Once ceramic products are broken, they cannot be restored to their original state – even if repaired with techniques like porcelain joining or kintsugi, the result will only be a kind of imperfect beauty.
How can you prevent dropping your teapot?
When pouring tea, keep another finger on the lid or knob, and avoid large movements.
Keep the teapot in hand during the pouring process, as many lids fall off while pouring tea.
Avoid imitating the tricks that teapot sellers use, such as lids that don't fall off or upside-down spout and lid demonstrations. These are just gimmicks that could easily ruin your beloved teapot, making it a waste of effort.
Place the teapot in high or cabinet locations where children can't reach, and don't let clumsy people touch the teapot.
Fear of Oil
Those who enjoy playing with purple clay teapots know that after long-term use, the surface develops a reserved and understated luster known as “patina.”
It's important to understand that the “patina” of a purple clay teapot is very different from what we usually think of as “oily.”
The highly absorbent purple clay teapot also fears oil and smoke, so do not apply various oils to its surface to make it appear more glossy – the luster of a purple clay teapot comes from nurturing, not smearing.
▲ Comparison of patina before and after on purple clay
Once a purple clay teapot comes into contact with oil, it may develop an unnatural shine and be prone to patchy discoloration. Neither the inside nor the outside of the teapot should come into contact with oil.
Each time you prepare tea, ensure clean hands when handling the teapot. This prevents contamination of the tea with unwanted odors and ensures good maintenance of the teapot.
In the process of drinking tea, it's necessary to caress and play with the sand teapot using clean hands.
Another point: for most people, the area with the most oil and smoke is the kitchen. Therefore, a crucial step in maintaining a purple clay teapot is keeping it away from the kitchen.
Fear of Odors
As mentioned above, the absorbency of a purple clay teapot is quite strong; it's not only easy to absorb oil but also odors.
Strong odor absorption is beneficial for brewing tea and maintaining the teapot, but it's essential to avoid mixed or unpleasant odors.
Therefore, a purple clay teapot must be kept away from areas with many odors, such as the kitchen and toilet.
Fear of Detergents
We strongly recommend against using chemical detergents to clean the teapot. You should never use dish soap or chemical detergents to scrub a purple clay teapot.
This not only washes away the absorbed tea flavor but can also strip the exterior sheen of the teapot, so it should be avoided at all costs.
If cleaning is necessary, we suggest using edible baking soda.
Fear of Polishing Cloths or Steel Wool
When a purple clay teapot gets stained, do not use polishing cloths containing aluminum oxide or steel wool to clean it. Although these tools clean quickly, they can easily damage the surface structure of the teapot, leaving scratches that affect its appearance.
The best tools are coarse cotton cloth and nylon brushes, but even with these, avoid using excessive force.
Some decorative purple clay teapots have complex body shapes, making patterns difficult to clean. In this case, a wavy-toothed toothbrush can be used for cleaning.
Fear of Large Temperature Changes
Generally, when brewing tea, water temperatures between 80 and 100 degrees Celsius are used. Additionally, the firing temperature of purple clay teapots is typically between 1050 and 1200 degrees Celsius.
Thus, under normal circumstances, purple clay teapots have excellent heat resistance.
However, if there is a sudden and significant change in temperature (sudden cooling or heating), some purple clay teapots may crack (especially thin-walled ones).
Therefore, unused purple clay teapots should not be refrigerated or subjected to high-temperature sterilization in a microwave oven; simply store them at room temperature. Take extra care to warm the teapot when the weather is cold.
Fear of Direct Sunlight
During use, purple clay teapots are often in a state of significant temperature changes, but due to their permeable structure, this generally doesn't cause problems.
However, avoid exposing the teapot to direct sunlight, as this can affect the surface sheen of the teapot body.
After cleaning the teapot, there's no need to dry it in the sun or use a dryer; simply place it in a cool environment to air-dry naturally.
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