Hagi sencha teacups absorbing colour

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cynderfox
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2022 11:30 am

Tue Dec 06, 2022 12:16 pm

Hello, this is my first post, so I hope I'm putting in the right section, sorry if not!

I'm looking for some advice. I recently acquired some sencha teacups and I'd never owned something like this before. They have a beautiful combination of cream and purple colours and I started using them to drink all kinds of tea. I used one of them to drink some black tea the other day and forgot to rinse it properly so, long story short, it seems the colour has seeped into the crackly glaze and it stands out against the cream/white inner colour.

I was wondering, is it normal and desirable for this to happen (I know some glazes transform over time as they are used), or was I supposed to use this for lighter teas only? I also should have rinsed it right away after use, but it slipped my mind unfortunately.

I found a similar post here from a few years ago, but I'm unsure what the answer is. I'd love to understand more about how colour changes in Japanese teaware are regarded and what's desirable vs what isn't.
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debunix
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:48 pm

I liked my flower of forgetfulness tea bowl even before its crackles began to stain, and I simply love how use leaves this gradually deepening beautiful trace.

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debunix
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:50 pm

FYI, even light colored tea liquor will stain crackles deeply over long enough time, because the tannins are in their, they’re just less visible.
cynderfox
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2022 11:30 am

Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:06 am

Oh I see, it's good to know it'll stain regardless of the type of tea, I was worried I'd done something wrong!
debunix wrote:
Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:48 pm
I liked my flower of forgetfulness tea bowl even before its crackles began to stain, and I simply love how use leaves this gradually deepening beautiful trace.

That's a beautiful bowl! You're right, the crackles give a lot of character. I was so surprised because I hadn't even noticed the crackles on mine until the stains appeared, so it was unexpected. Shows how much of a newbie I am haha
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debunix
Posts: 1812
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:27 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Wed Dec 07, 2022 4:22 pm

It’s not just Hagi….it’s the type of glaze. Sometimes the stains will go full thickness and be visible on the outside of the cup when the clay is especially porous (often the case with Hagi wares). One key thing to point out is that those cracks could potentially be sites of concern for contamination to reside. So I avoid drinking anything but plain teas in such vessels, to avoid any risk of cross-contamination from strongly or artificially flavored drinks, or things that could seeping to the cracks and support the growth of molds. I regularly prepare hot chocolate in some of my smaller teawares, but never in those with a glaze that is flaky or heavily crackles, or in unglazed wares.
cynderfox
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2022 11:30 am

Thu Dec 08, 2022 8:26 am

debunix wrote:
Wed Dec 07, 2022 4:22 pm
It’s not just Hagi….it’s the type of glaze. Sometimes the stains will go full thickness and be visible on the outside of the cup when the clay is especially porous (often the case with Hagi wares). One key thing to point out is that those cracks could potentially be sites of concern for contamination to reside. So I avoid drinking anything but plain teas in such vessels, to avoid any risk of cross-contamination from strongly or artificially flavored drinks, or things that could seeping to the cracks and support the growth of molds. I regularly prepare hot chocolate in some of my smaller teawares, but never in those with a glaze that is flaky or heavily crackles, or in unglazed wares.
You've just answered a question I had this afternoon – I went to make some tea and noticed the crackles on the outside of the cup are also visible now. I was wondering if I was imagining things, but they definitely weren't there before! It's so interesting to see the teacup change colour like this.

Very helpful to know why, I will try to drink the same type of tea to keep the flavours consistent. Thank you for the insight!
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