As a Brit, I do enjoy a nice cup of tea.
My teapot however is getting a bit manky, and I'm wondering whether I should give it a good scrubbing - both inside and out.
I'm sure I read somewhere though, that the Chinese NEVER scrub out their teapots, as years of "tea stains" actually enhance the flavour of the tea!
I wonder if anyone has ever scrubbed out their teapot and noticed any change in the flavour of the tea?

Nope, no change. But then, I use teabags, so what do I know?

I also use teabags agony, but it still leaves stains on the teapot.
With a mug, or tea cup that gets stained, I usually give them an overnight soak in bleach followed by a good rinsing, but I am led to believe that doing that to a teapot would damage the flavour of the tea

I have to admit I wouldn't be keen to drink the first cuppas out of a teapot that's been bleached, that stuff is strong!!!

I've always heard that it's better to leave the teapot unscrubbed. Us Irish knows our tea

However, I also am not a connaiseur of tea, so wouldn't be too worried about giving the teapot a scrub out from time to time. I believe a salt scrub is pretty efficient, or even sand. I have tried both on baby bottles (well rinsed afterwards) and tea-stained mugs and it certainly removed any build up.

I'd say if it bothers you give your teapot a scrub - at worst it'll be like a new teapot and it'll build up its flavour again.

delboy,
Make a "paste" of baking soda and water. Spread it around the bottom and sides of the teapot, let it sit for about 15 minutes, go back and gently rub the paste around like you would a cleanser (you'll need to remoisten it with the cloth), rinse well, and it should be much cleaner with no aftertaste. The biggest thing is making sure you rinse it out really well. Sandy

Thanks Santana and Sandy for your advice, I think I'll try Sandy's method.
Whenever I soak my mugs in bleach, of course I always give them a VERY good rinsing after, but as Santana said, that stuff is STRONG, and always manages to leave a tiny aftertaste!
I guess from an aesthetic point of view it's the outside I really want to clean up - it's a dark blue teapot but it still looks manky!

Might depend on the hardness of your local water, that can leave a stony deposit. Water that has drained through and over limestone can be very hard. Leaving the pot soaking in a vinegar solution overnight can help get rid of this.

You also might want to try an old restaurant trick, that we use to get the scaly deposits off the coffee carafes.

Fill up to the top of the nasty bits with vinegar, and put in a handful of copper pennies. Let them soak for an hour or so, and then swirl the pennies around inside the pot. Rinse well (including at least one hot rinse - fill the pot with boiling water). The pennies will be very shiny and the pot should be clean.

A trick we used for cleaning coffee pots when I was a waitress during college: Put crushed ice (or just a few ice cubes) in pot, about a tablespoon of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Swirl and rinse. Leaves pot shiny clean with no aftertaste.

I used ClaraSue's ice and salt trick at 7-Eleven, for 10 years! I worked graveyard, and had to have 13 pots of nice fresh coffee ready for my 4:00AM guys on their (half asleep) rush to work!

Yes, I forgot the ice trick - don't use it with a hot coffeepot, though.

Usually washing your teapot with water without brusing everytime you drink tea will do the job.

If it leaves stain just put some salt and brush it with your hand .

You are correct about the Chinese not washing their pots delboy. However it is mostly limited to a specific kind of teapot, namely YiXing teapots (pronounced Yee-shing).

YiXing teapots are made from a clay that comes from the YiXing region of China and which is valued for it's color (purplish red). YiXing clay is notably more porous than most other clays which makes it perfect for what you describe. It is called 'seasoning' the teapot. Generally when using YiXing teapots, it's recommended to use a different teapot for each type of tea you are brewing (black, green, oolong, herbal is good although you could break it down even further). Teapots that have been seasoned for years upon years are extremely valuable in China and sell for obscene amounts of money but are usually passed on as heirlooms and kept in the family for generation upon generation.

Also of note, YiXing clay pots are unique in their ability to maintain heat. They do not cool down as fast as other clay's which is why many other civilizations attempted to imitate YiXing teapots but ultimately just succeeded in making an inferior product due to inferior clay.

There are even legends of teapots in China. One in particular, to make it short, tells of a poor old man who had a YiXing pot as one of his only belongings. Year after year he would make tea in this pot, seasoning it to perfection.

There was a young businessman who had traveled all over the land collecting the finest teapots and brewing the finest teas. He spared no expense in order to acquire premium leaves and pots.

Upon hearing this, the old man sought him out and asked if he might share a cup of tea with the young man. The young man, seeing this old man in ragged clothes, thought it peculiar but nevertheless accepted the chance to show off his tea collection.

Upon tasting the tea, the old man remarked at how bland the tea was, how odorless and colorless. The old man told the young businessman that perhaps the teapot was just too new to brew a fine cup. Afterwards, the old man took out his old, beaten up tea pot and brewed a cup for the young man. The young man was astonished at the cup of tea he was given and instantly offered the old man a small fortune for the teapot.

It was then that the old man explained how he was once a rich man with a tea obsession. Eventually, the old man sold off all of his possessions except for the teapot. The old man turned down the fortune but admired the young man's respect and knowledge of tea. So the old man made a deal, that he would leave the teapot in the hands of the young man for only 500 silver pieces with the added stipulation that the young man allow the old man to join him for tea once a day.

It's a cute little story but speaks volumes not only about how much the Chinese value YiXing teapots, but at their almost sacred belief in tea and that it can bring people together regardless of economic status.

I would recommend cleaning porcelain, glass, and metal teapots as mentioned above by several other knowledgable members. Cast Iron teapots remains a personal preference. I don't like them (I'm a YiXing fanatic) but several people I know love their cast iron pots and have differing opinions about cleaning them or not. Most, at the very least, just rinse them out with scalding water.

In general, I would recommend staying away from metal teaware due to scaly buildup, rusting, etc. I recommend a glass tea kettle for boiling water (I grabbed one from Ikea for 3 bucks) as it's cheap and as long as you drink tea everyday and are constantly filling/emptying the pot, it never really needs cleaning.

wdstk,
Our pennies still contain 2.5% copper, as a thin coating, and they will come out shining. I used to amaze the kids with the old *rub a penny with ketchup and make it shine* trick. Just a small bit of useless trivia! Sandy

Go the bleach route and then put on a hot wash in the dishwasher.... same with mugs which get stained by using tea-bags...

Herbal tea bags don't seem to stain...

There is a product in the UK called Chempro SDP, it's used by brewers to clean and sterilise their equipment. It's brilliant at getting stains out of teapots and mugs. Just let it soak for half an hour or so. You should be able to get it from anywhere that sells home brew kits.

You could always drop a denture tablet in it and leave it for an hour or two (or overnight)
You don't have to have dentures to buy denture tablets!