Caring for a Yixing Teapot

A Yixing teapot is made from unglazed clay, mostly from the Yixing region of Jiangsu. Because there is no glaze, the clay is slightly porous and takes in a little of every tea you brew in it. That is the entire point of the pot — and the reason it comes with rules.

One pot, one tea

The conventional advice is to keep a clay pot to a single type of tea. If you brew a heavily roasted oolong in a pot all week and then a delicate white tea on Sunday, the white tea will taste of the oolong.

In practice the rule is about families of tea, not single products. One pot for roasted oolongs, one for raw pu-erh, one for aged white tea. Many people keep two or three pots and that is enough.

Seasoning

New pots do not need a long ritual. Rinse the pot with hot water, inside and out, then brew tea in it and pour the rinse water over the outside. Repeat for a few sessions. The clay darkens gradually and the surface takes on a soft sheen.

Some people simmer new pots in tea. It is not necessary, and it can stain unevenly if the pot sits against the side of the pan. Steady use does the same job more evenly.

Cleaning

Rinse with hot water after each session and let the pot dry. Do not use soap. Clay is porous and will hold the detergent, and you will taste it for weeks afterward.

Do not scrub the inside. A little tea deposit is normal and is what seasons the pot. If the spout clogs, a soft brush or a wooden pick clears it without scratching.

Drying and storage

Dry the pot upside down with the lid off so air can move through it. Put it away only when it is completely dry. A pot stored damp will smell musty, and that smell goes straight into the next pot of tea.

Store it away from strong smells. Clay absorbs what is around it, and a pot kept next to spices or cleaning products will pick those up.

What to avoid

• Soap, dishwasher and boiling water rinses on the outside of a seasoned pot.
• Sudden temperature changes. Warm the pot with hot water before brewing.
• Leaving tea sitting in the pot overnight.
• Brewing green tea in a densely seasoned pot. Delicate teas show the pot's history immediately.

None of this is difficult. It comes down to one habit: rinse, dry, and let the pot keep the tea it has already had.