Reseasoning a Tea Pot

[finnfann]

I love my son's baby sitter, really I do. She works really hard with him, stimulates him to no end and has him keeping up with kids twice his age. She does great things for us too; she does the laundry, she tidies up, and when she's run out of things to do during his nap, she creates new projects for herself.

Yesterday, she scrubbed my tea pot. My beloved tea pot that I've been seasoning for 5 years. 5 years.

I didn't know if I would notice a difference, or if the value of seasoning was all in my head, but suddenly my $2 an ounce Ceylon tastes like it cost $2 an ounce. All of the depth of flavor is gone.

So, I'm wondering, does anyone has any tips for speeding the reseasoning process?

Help. Please.

[Susan G]

Make pots of tripled-quanitity teas, then let the pot steep for an entire day. Repeat as needed. I think you'll be surprised how little time it takes to re-season the pot!

[finnfann]

Great! Thanks -- I know what I'm doing this weekend!

[M.X.Hassett]

You should see what happens when a house keeper puts a river clay tea pot in the dishwasher on the heavy cycle

Edit: At least she knows not to put my chefs knives in the dishwasher, after a very ugly mishap(can you say rust) with a custom Japanese knife.

Edited October 7, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[Chef Shogun]

'Seasoning'...is this a cast iron teapot?

Kind of a counter-question: Is a new cast iron teapot like an un-seasoned long-used cast iron teapot? If I buy a new one, will it have the same flavour problems you are seeing in your damaged pot?

[finnfann]

Yes, my beloved tea pot is cast iron.

I suppose that a new cast iron pot would have the same flavor issues that my de-seasoned pot has, but it's hard to remember what this one was like before.

I've been making extra strong pots every day and letting it sit. I think I'm on my way to reseasoning!