New teapot smells strange

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zpcqcn
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Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2021 1:07 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Sun Jan 17, 2021 3:22 pm

Hi all,

I recently purchased a pot from Kong Mountain Tea in the US, and there is a strong smell coming from inside the pot. I can't pinpoint the type of smell (chemical, clay, etc), but it persists despite using boiling water on it a few times. The site claims it is made of Ben Shan Luni. The pot seems well-made other than the smell, and I have not tried to brew tea in it yet as I was considering possibly having to return it. I have 4 other clay pots of differing clay types and they did not have this strong of an odor, so it made me question if my new one is safe. I attached some pictures that I hope might be helpful, and any insight into this would be much appreciated.

Though this is slightly unrelated, I inquired with the seller as to the identity of the potter before I received the pot, and she said that the artist wished to remain unknown. This seemed, to me, to be potentially suspicious and may be part of the reason I am also questioning the odd, strong smell.

Again, any insight into any part of this would be greatly appreciated. I do like the pot, but I know the Yixing market can be sketchy and don't want to have teaware that is unsafe.


Here is the shop listing as well for more pictures: https://www.kongmountaintea.com/yixing- ... ing-teapot

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26uk
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Location: Bay Area, Ca

Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:04 pm

I don't have much expertise here, but do have quite a few modern pots. Some came to me with no smell, some came with a burnt smell like being fired in a kiln. No matter though, all smells went away after boiling in water just one or twice.

Have you soaked the pot in water for a few days continuously? Maybe just need some time.
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OCTO
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Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:47 pm

Try brewing a few rounds of tea with the pot and see if the smell persists. I would usually use tea dust or crushed leaves that are no longer brew worthy and place them in a small teabag. What you want is for the pot to soak up some tea. The smell should go away after a few rounds. But it is indeed rare to find new pots with any form of foreign smell. Vintage pots, yes. You will find smell coming from them, especially those that are left unused for a long time. There is a "old" smell to it.

Cheers!
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Bok
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Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:09 pm

I’ve had bad experiences a few times with items from taobao, a persistent non-natural smell, did never disappear... the pretext that the potter wants to remain anonymous is not very credible, especially in the Chinese market. More likely there is no maker per de but a factory line ;)
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Bok
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Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:10 pm

If anonymous, why does the maker add a chop? :lol:
26uk
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Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2020 8:19 pm
Location: Bay Area, Ca

Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:46 pm

Bok wrote:
Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:10 pm
If anonymous, why does the maker add a chop? :lol:
After actually reading everything in original post, yeah I would return this teapot.
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Bok
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Sun Jan 17, 2021 11:44 pm

No matter what Yixing should not have a strong smell, unless it’s storage smell as Octo mentioned. Some sort of sandy clay smell in the beginning but not for more than one or two tea sessions.

You’d naturally recognise this kind of smell as “benevolent”. Trust your nose.
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OCTO
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Mon Jan 18, 2021 1:50 am

Bok wrote:
Sun Jan 17, 2021 11:44 pm
No matter what Yixing should not have a strong smell, unless it’s storage smell as Octo mentioned. Some sort of sandy clay smell in the beginning but not for more than one or two tea sessions.

You’d naturally recognise this kind of smell as “benevolent”. Trust your nose.
;) ;)
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Youzi
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Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:30 am

zpcqcn wrote:
Sun Jan 17, 2021 3:22 pm
Hi all,

I recently purchased a pot from Kong Mountain Tea in the US, and there is a strong smell coming from inside the pot. I can't pinpoint the type of smell (chemical, clay, etc), but it persists despite using boiling water on it a few times. The site claims it is made of Ben Shan Luni. The pot seems well-made other than the smell, and I have not tried to brew tea in it yet as I was considering possibly having to return it. I have 4 other clay pots of differing clay types and they did not have this strong of an odor, so it made me question if my new one is safe. I attached some pictures that I hope might be helpful, and any insight into this would be much appreciated.

Though this is slightly unrelated, I inquired with the seller as to the identity of the potter before I received the pot, and she said that the artist wished to remain unknown. This seemed, to me, to be potentially suspicious and may be part of the reason I am also questioning the odd, strong smell.

Again, any insight into any part of this would be greatly appreciated. I do like the pot, but I know the Yixing market can be sketchy and don't want to have teaware that is unsafe.


Here is the shop listing as well for more pictures: https://www.kongmountaintea.com/yixing- ... ing-teapot


Image

Image

Image
Teapots can pick up smells from here they were stored. For example I had a teapot which smelled like glue for months, which it picked up from the low quality box it was stored in for years.

Took quite a few cheap tea sessions to get rid of the odor.
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Balthazar
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Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:32 am

Yep, one of my pots had been stored together with incense. Took a ridiculous amount of time and brews to disappear (come to think of it, I don't know why I didn't just give it a vinegar bath).

That said, I agree with the above regarding "benevolent" smells.
zpcqcn
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Location: Illinois, USA

Mon Jan 18, 2021 2:27 pm

Thank you all for the very helpful input. I decided to brew a couple rounds of tea in the pot, and I am no longer picking up the off-scent. I imagine, as many of you proposed, that it was some sort of strange smell picked up from storage. This has been my first questionable pot/vendor experience, and I am appreciative to you all for helping me navigate this vast world of teaware.
kekstee
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Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:37 pm
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Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:07 pm

I wish it was easier to talk about smells :D

Can't properly describe what my Duanni(?) looking pot smells like. It's some kind of... earthy, clay, petrichor smell when wet? A damp towel can smell like that?
Really annoying. I actually bought it in person and was a bit set back by the very polished surface, but everything else seemed to check out. Nice half handmade-looking, porous/sandy feel on the inside, good pour...
Boiled it, had some shu puerh in it, still present.
There's a softening effect on the tea, but I have to assume the pot-funk just mixes straight into the shu-funk.

Compared to my other pots the outside dries juust a bit slow? Like the drop you can see from pouring some water on it in the picture.
Paid like $150 and feel like that's decent craftsmanship for the price but I've still been had :/

I kind of don't want to give up on it but I don't know if it's worth scrubbing with something... or what would have led to this. Bad clay? Additives? Underfired?
I'm led to believe it should have the hot stone vibe I get from a decent zini pot, with no actual smell attached.

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