--- slug: how_to_season_a_clay_teapot category_path: home_kitchen/kitchen_dining/coffee_tea_espresso/teapots title: "How to Season a Clay Teapot" lead: "Before first use, rinse a new unglazed clay teapot and simmer it in water — ideally with a handful of the tea you'll brew in it — to wash out clay dust and the kiln smell and open the pores. Dedicate the pot to one type of tea and only ever rinse it with hot water, never soap, because the porous clay absorbs flavor and builds up seasoning over time." recommendation: name: "Simmer a new pot in water with its intended tea, keep it to one tea type, and clean it with hot water only — never soap" reason: "Unglazed clay teapots — Yixing, Tokoname, Banko and similar — are porous, so they take on the character of the tea brewed in them, and seasoning both cleans a new pot and starts that relationship. Start by rinsing the pot inside and out under warm water to remove loose clay dust. Then give it a gentle simmer: sit the pot and its lid in a pan of water, bring it slowly to a low simmer for 20 minutes to an hour, and add a spoonful of the leaves you plan to brew (or the used leaves afterwards) so the clay begins to take up that tea's aroma rather than any raw-clay or kiln smell. Let it cool in the water, then rinse and air-dry. Because the clay holds flavor, dedicate each pot to a single type of tea — one for pu-erh, another for oolong, and so on — so the flavors don't muddle. For everyday care, never use soap or detergent, which the clay absorbs and which taints future brews: rinse with hot water, wipe the outside, and let it dry fully with the lid off so it doesn't turn musty. Cast-iron kyusu and glazed pots are different — a quick rinse is all they need, since a glaze seals the surface and doesn't absorb flavor." published: 2026-07-09 updated: 2026-07-09 ---