While I prefer glass for serving tea, I recently bought a 1 liter stainless steel Savoy teapot for those times when accident prone people are present . You know the people I'm talking about. You can actually see their eyes get wide and hear their hearts pound out of their chests if you put a glass teapot in the room with them. Yes, it's fun to watch them in action, but hopefully from a distance at someone elses house. OK, we know, if they were really that "accident prone", they would have strangled to death on their umbilicle cords before they were born.
Getting back to my question, I washed the pot well, scrubbed it with baking soda, used a spout brush, and left it on the bottom rack of the dish washer for three cycles. I also made several batches of tea to break it in, but I still have a problem. If I leave tea in the pot for about a half hour, it continually gets darker and gets a strong unpleasant flavor. It's a shame, because it keeps the tea hot much better than any glass or other ceramics. There are no tea leaves in the tea, so it seems to be a reaction with the metal. I have a Corning Thermique thermos that can keep tea fresh for hours with little or no loss of flavor or color.
What is the problem with keeping tea in this stainless steel pot?
They also say not to make Koolaid in metal. Maybe it's a similar problem with tea, but if I just brew the tea in steel and pour it into a glass pot, I don't taste a difference. In fact, when making tea for myself, I normally use a 20oz stainless camping mug and pour it thru a tea strainer into a small pot because that makes cleanup very simple, the steel mug is so light it needs no preheating and holds heat well, and the tea brews better when unimpeded by an infuser.
The Thermique thermos by Corning Glass has a glass insert and a built in pouring spout. It's one of the many great things, like stylish thin walled Pyrex teapots, that Corning quit making over the years. Corning made beautiful teaware before Jena ever existed.
The Thermique thermos by Corning Glass has a glass insert and a built in pouring spout. It's one of the many great things, like stylish thin walled Pyrex teapots, that Corning quit making over the years. Corning made beautiful teaware before Jena ever existed.
Assuming your Nissan has no glass liner, it must be a different type of stainless. There are many different varieties of stainless steel. You would think they would make teapots of a type that would not react badly with the tea, but the Savoy pot seems to be very reactive. Strangely, I think it is the same pot I've seen atop samovars, which as I understand, would be used to hold tea concentrate for hours.
It may well be an issue with this one pot. There still could be a bit of debris - I suspect welding flux residue - inside where the spout is attached.
The spout is attached like the spout on an Yixing pot. There is a grouping of ten 5mm holes on the body of the pot with the spout welded on over these holes. That makes it hard to see or get at that area to scub it well. The oval opening at the pouring end of the spout is barely wide enough for a pencil.
I contacted the vendor who offered to refund my money and said she has never had any complaints before. I would rather cure the problem. It's an attractive display pot for my collection as well.
The spout is attached like the spout on an Yixing pot. There is a grouping of ten 5mm holes on the body of the pot with the spout welded on over these holes. That makes it hard to see or get at that area to scub it well. The oval opening at the pouring end of the spout is barely wide enough for a pencil.
I contacted the vendor who offered to refund my money and said she has never had any complaints before. I would rather cure the problem. It's an attractive display pot for my collection as well.
Jan 30th, '08, 14:23
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I believe if memory serves me, I think that it is has to do with the acidity of the tea or PH or something that reacts with the stainless steel. I will provide the link of where I found it later. This is why Swissgold claims their filters are much better.Fukamushi Dynasty wrote:I can't say, but everyone uses steel kettles/water heaters. Zojirushi did put a nonstick coating on their's, an now I wonder if it isn't for this very reason.
Don't always believe what you think!
http://www.ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com
http://englishtea.us/
http://www.ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com
http://englishtea.us/
Re: Stainless steel question
There is no question in my mind that there is a reaction with the metal. My solution is to start with a clean thermos, and to finish the tea within say 3-4 hours. It takes that long to make a notable difference in taste. After 8 or more hours the difference is pretty drastic, and very noticeable by smell as well. I'd love to hear from a chemist as to what actually happens to the tea.
Re: Stainless steel question
Stainless is ok as a kettle, but I would never use for tea. Black at the limit.
Any cheap porcelain will do better...
Any cheap porcelain will do better...