I don't think this is a patina

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d.manuk
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Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:15 pm



There was a green patina forming on the bottom of my pot, which is still visible in the pictures.
However, what is concerning me is the purplish undertone that is starting to form both in the very center of the pot and streaks on the inner right of the pot as well.

The inside of the pot now smells a bit like iron, and I think it is because the purple is showing through, which I think is the actual "inside" of the pot which should not be exposed. I've left sencha inside the pot for a few hours/overnight a few times which I feel may have worn down the "outer layer" of the pot.

This pot was bought for $200 in the Ippodo store at the very beginning of my tea journey.

What do you think?
My very noob assessment is that I should replace the pot with something of higher quality instead of continuing to use it.
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Victoria
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Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:34 pm

This looks like a stoneware teapot like the Hokujo ones I have. They are high in iron. The purple might just be iron reacting to moisture and or not properly fully drying after each use. Athough, I use my stoneware Hokujo almost daily so it doesn’t dry that often. It’s full of leaves at the moment, so will check tomorrow morning when I clean it out, as I let it sit overnight with my morning roasted oolong.

Are you placing boiling water in pot before drying with soft cloth, and placing in a sunny area to completely dry over several days? You might carefully place pot in a larger stove top pot with a trivot or cloth (to protect the teapot from rattling) and slowly simmer for 30 minutes or so. Just make sure the teapot is not in direct contact with the stove top pot.

p.s. I just looked inside my other two stoneware Hokujo pots that are dry. No purple found, but a slight iron scent. I wouldn’t worry about iron scent, it isn’t harmful and should enhance your tea flavor. Iron oxide in the clay reacts with tannins, smoothing out the tea.
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Bok
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Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:22 pm

Those purple spots look a bit like colouring of the clay from woodfiring. Strange though that it has appeared afterwards and not been there to begin with… Woodfired clay can have all sorts of weird and strange colourings, especially metallic and almost oily looking tones.
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Victoria
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Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:02 pm

I just looked on Ippodo’s site and see these kyusu are now glazed on the inside. It looks like they are made for Ippodo. I recommend you write them at the NYC store and ask if there was an issue with these pots.
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Victoria
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Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:53 am

Looked inside my Hokujo pot that I use almost daily and remains stuffed with wet leaves all week long; it is clean no funny rusting or purple streaks going on.
wildisthewind
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Fri Nov 03, 2017 9:51 am

Shine Magical wrote:
Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:15 pm
There was a green patina forming on the bottom of my pot, which is still visible in the pictures.
However, what is concerning me is the purplish undertone that is starting to form both in the very center of the pot and streaks on the inner right of the pot as well.

The inside of the pot now smells a bit like iron, and I think it is because the purple is showing through, which I think is the actual "inside" of the pot which should not be exposed. I've left sencha inside the pot for a few hours/overnight a few times which I feel may have worn down the "outer layer" of the pot.

This pot was bought for $200 in the Ippodo store at the very beginning of my tea journey.

What do you think?
My very noob assessment is that I should replace the pot with something of higher quality instead of continuing to use it.
Nah, don't stop using it, it looks like a nice piece. What others have said about minerals in the clay reacting with water seems plausible (though I've never heard of anything like that happening), but it's definitely not that the "outer layer" has been "worn through". Assuming this is unglazed stoneware, it's the same material and density throughout the width of the walls. And high-fired stoneware is a very tough material, there's nothing in tea that could erode it. If you're worried about it affecting the flavor, try cleaning it out with some baking soda: put some in, add a little water to make a medium paste, scrub it around the interior of the pot with your fingers, then rinse thoroughly.
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Stephen
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Fri Nov 03, 2017 9:39 pm

I agree with the sentiment to continue using the teapot. As has already been said this may be a metal/iron oxide that has developed. I have an unglazed teapot that developed some spots that look like they could be metal/iron oxide. It brews great tea!
Last edited by Stephen on Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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d.manuk
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Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:40 pm

Victoria wrote:
Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:34 pm
Are you placing boiling water in pot before drying with soft cloth, and placing in a sunny area to completely dry over several days?

p.s. I just looked inside my other two stoneware Hokujo pots that are dry. No purple found, but a slight iron scent. I wouldn’t worry about iron scent, it isn’t harmful and should enhance your tea flavor. Iron oxide in the clay reacts with tannins, smoothing out the tea.
I just dump out the leaves and rinse with regular tap and let it air dry.

I'm interested in learning more about this: Iron oxide in the clay reacts with tannins, smoothing out the tea.
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pedant
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Sun Nov 05, 2017 6:11 am

that's a legit pot, i wouldn't stop using it.

it's not really patina, it's more like tea residue.
and leaving tea overnight isn't going to wear down an outer layer of the clay or something. still, don't get in the habit of doing that. keep your teapot fresh, clean, and dry. you don't want to forget tea/leaves in there for a long time and have the inside of your pot tainted by mold.

you can remove tea stains, but i wouldn't bother unless the tea you brew in it isn't tasting quite right, and you're sure it's because of the pot
i.e. it's not due to water changes (tap water in many areas changes season to season), different (or degraded) tea, etc.

you can make a thick paste of baking soda and water and scrub away with that.
the baking soda paste should turn brown as the tea stain is scrubbed away.
(this baking soda method is what i do to 'reset' a teapot: put a good bit of paste in the teapot, stick a towel-covered finger in there, and scrub the paste around).

it's also possible that what you're seeing is a thin film of mineral and/or lipid residue concentrated and left behind as the last bit of water evaporated in the recesses.

here's an example of this:
Image

nothing to worry about imo
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d.manuk
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Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:25 pm

The issue was NYC tap water. I've been using solely Poland Spring bottled water since then and the iron-smell problem went away and the teas even taste slightly better.
wildisthewind
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Mon Jan 01, 2018 12:31 am

Shine Magical wrote:
Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:25 pm
The issue was NYC tap water. I've been using solely Poland Spring bottled water since then and the iron-smell problem went away and the teas even taste slightly better.
Whoa there. Don't go dissing my NYC tap water, now. ;)

For real, though, the major factor is probably the pipes of the building the tap is in. Generally, NYC tap water is pretty decent for tea, even before passing through a Brita. Good percentage of dissolved minerals, no off flavors. Lots of NYC buildings have crap plumbing systems, though, and it comes through in the tap water.
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Victoria
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Mon Jan 01, 2018 4:44 am

wildisthewind wrote:
Mon Jan 01, 2018 12:31 am
Shine Magical wrote:
Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:25 pm
The issue was NYC tap water. I've been using solely Poland Spring bottled water since then and the iron-smell problem went away and the teas even taste slightly better.
Whoa there. Don't go dissing my NYC tap water, now. ;)

For real, though, the major factor is probably the pipes of the building the tap is in. Generally, NYC tap water is pretty decent for tea, even before passing through a Brita. Good percentage of dissolved minerals, no off flavors. Lots of NYC buildings have crap plumbing systems, though, and it comes through in the tap water.
Yes NYC tap water is great, I don’t even need to filter 👍 Happy New Year ❄️
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