How to clean a purple clay teapot?

Zisha teapots have a long history in China and their craftsmanship is very sophisticated. The small Zisha teapots not only have a high collection value, but more importantly, they are also widely used in life. For example, some friends like to drink tea with a purple clay teapot, while some friends like to drink coffee with a purple clay teapot. Both are acceptable. However, the purple clay teapot needs to be cleaned after being used for a long time. So, how to clean the purple clay teapot?

Generally speaking, the cleaning of purple sand pots is divided into cleaning of new pots and cleaning of old pots. If the new teapot is made of pure purple clay, you can just wash it several times with boiling water before using it. There is no need to open the teapot in other ways. However, sometimes the teapot body is inevitably waxed or oiled. In this case, you need to clean the teapot carefully before using it, otherwise it may affect its use. Take a clean and odorless pot, separate the lid and the pot body and place them on the bottom of the pot, pour in clean water higher than the pot body, and slowly heat it over low heat until it boils. In this step, you should pay attention to the fact that the kettle body and the water should be heated up at the same time. Do not, as some experts suggest, suddenly put the kettle body into boiling water to create a "sudden change between hot and cold".

After the water boils, take a handful of tea leaves (usually heavily roasted tea leaves that are more resistant to boiling) and put them into the boil. After a few minutes, remove the tea leaves and continue to simmer the clay pot and tea soup over low heat. After 20 to 30 minutes, carefully lift the teapot out of the pot with bamboo chopsticks and let it sit to cool down (quickly rinse with cold water). Finally, rinse the inside and outside of the pot with clean water to remove all remaining tea leaves, and then you can officially use it.

The main function of this water boiling method is to remove wax and wake up the pot. It can also allow the pore structure of the pot body to expand and contract due to heat and release the earthy smell and impurities contained in it. If implemented properly, it will help to brew tea and maintain the pot in the future.

If you have a second-hand pot, an old pot, an antique pot, or an unearthed pot, you need to be more cautious in handling it, because no one knows who the previous owner of the pot was.

Not only unearthed teapots need to be thoroughly cleaned, but old and worn-out teapots as well, because many people drink tea without using teacups, but directly put their mouths to the spout of the teapot. Some people are used to using teapots to hold soy sauce, sesame oil, etc. Some fake teapot makers even use ink, shoe polish, and hydrochloric acid to dye the purple clay teapots to make them look old. Therefore, no matter where you get the old teapot from, you must clean it thoroughly, give it a makeover, and start brewing tea from the beginning. Because "a good teapot should not be used for two kinds of tea", if a teapot that is often used to brew Pu'er tea is suddenly changed to brew Oolong tea, the tea soup will inevitably be impure and the tea flavors may be mixed.

The old purple clay teapots are usually not cleaned by boiling in water, because the old teapots may contain hidden cracks or repairs, so this "strong medicine" is not suitable. The usual practice is to first take a clean pot, place the warmed old pot in it, pour in hot water to cover the pot, and then mix in about 10ML of bleach. Let it sit for an hour and then take it out (if you still feel unsure, you can extend the time), then scrub it repeatedly with a brush to clean the inside and outside of the pot. At this time, the true appearance of Lushan can be restored. It should be noted that bleach has a slight corrosive effect on the human body and its penetration is very strong, so it needs to be thoroughly washed before making tea.

After all the above operations, no matter the new pot or the old pot, it will inevitably present the most original and simple appearance, which means that in the future, under the careful care of the owner, it will show a beautiful and gentle face, which is also the charm of the purple clay pot.