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Pewter tea boat lead free?

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:26 pm
by Teaoxicated
Hello

Wondering if anyone know if the Chaozhou pewter tea boat (not antique) lead free?

Re: Pewter tea boat lead free?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 7:47 am
by .m.
Most likely not. The dark grey/"blue" color of pewter usually signify lead content. Pure tin is more silvery light grey color. But normally none of that should make it to your tea.

Re: Pewter tea boat lead free?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 9:50 am
by pedant
if it actually somehow has lead in it, it would rub off onto your teaware where it makes contact. i personally wouldn't want my teaware contaminated with lead even if it doesn't make it into the tea. also, handling leaden objects contaminates your hands.

if lead content really matters to you, you need to test it. you can't go off of the metal's color.
qualitative testing is a bit of a dark art, so it's probably best to get off the shelf reagent tests specifically for lead.
you should also have samples of both lead-bearing solder and lead-free solder on hand to use as controls.

Re: Pewter tea boat lead free?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 10:50 am
by Chadrinkincat
This color could be achieved by using a chemical dip to force a dark patina. It’s commonly done with a number of other metals so the same might be possible with pewter. Probably worth asking vendor for more details about metal content though. Is this one from bitterleaf tea?

Re: Pewter tea boat lead free?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 4:50 pm
by Teaoxicated
Thank you all for your input. Many vendors are selling the same items online. Or at least they look the same to me.

Re: Pewter tea boat lead free?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2019 7:34 pm
by Bok
Teaoxicated wrote:
Sun Nov 10, 2019 4:50 pm
Thank you all for your input. Many vendors are selling the same items online. Or at least they look the same to me.
It’s because they all get them from Taobao ;)