Tea is a beverage with a nice aroma that can be brewed by pouring boiling water over fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, which is an evergreen shrub that is native to China and East Asia. Tea is consumed in various parts of the world. In fact, after water, tea is the most consumed drink in the world. Tea usually has a stimulating effect in humans mainly because of the caffeine content in it. There are different types of tea. Some of them are Green tea, black tea, herbal tea, Oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea, fermented tea, and many more.
If you are a tea drinker and worry about always brewing a slimy tea, we will tell you why it is so. The reason your tea gets slimy is that you are not making it the right way. You are more likely to experience a slimy tea if you are using powdered tea to prepare it. Most powdered tea tends to thicken and become slimy, which could give your tea an unpleasant texture. Other things could be giving you a slimy tea. It could be that you are putting too much sugar in your tea and not mixing it properly. It could also be that you are not washing your teacup or teapot correctly. When you don’t wash your tea utensils every day and rinse thoroughly immediately after using them, bacteria will build up into a slimy nastiness that you will see in your tea.
You should be concerned if you always get a slimy tea, but you can do something about it. How can you get rid of that?
If you are using a powdered tea, ensure you stir it first with water before pouring hot water in it and stir it properly until it has a smooth texture.
The following are ways of cleaning your tea infuser.
Soak your tea infuser in white vinegar or oxyclean for about three hours or more, or overnight if the stain on it is very thick. Soaking it overnight will help you get rid of the stain. Then, rinse it thoroughly before you use it again.
Soak it in a mixture of hot water in a cup and one teaspoon of baking soda. Ensure you rinse it properly after you remove it and before your next use.
Alcohol can also provide some effect for removing tea stains. Pour a quarter cup of Vodka into a cup and fill the rest of the cup with water to the surface. Pour this mixture into your tea infuser and allow it to remain that way overnight.
Rinse it thoroughly the next day.
If that method doesn’t work for you because you don’t have some of the materials, you can mix a small quantity of bleach and a large amount of hot water in a bowl. You can use one-fifth black to four-fifth of water for the mixture.
Let your tea infuser remain there for, say, fifteen minutes. Rinse it very well after that.
If you have a mesh or perforated infuser, in addition to the procedures above, use a nail brush to brush away any particles. If it is very difficult to reach certain places, use a toothbrush to get there.
If you have a stainless steel mesh infuser and strainer, do the following. It may not work for all infusers as it is based on the shape and style of the infuser.
- Hold the infuser mesh over a gas flame for, say, four minutes, ensuring that all stained areas are turned into charcoal black. Use a towel or oven mitt if you feel any handle will get too hot to hold while you turn and maneuver the infuser over the flame.
- Allow it to cool. Don’t get bothered if your infuser looks like a charred mess at this point.
- While soaking the infuser in either of the above solutions, use a toothbrush and scrub it as hard as you can across the surface of the mesh, dipping it in the solution at regular intervals.
- Continue the scrubbing process as the particles begin to fall off the mesh wiring.
- When you are done, rinse it very well.
The final result is always clean and revived infuser or strainer.
If you are using a plastic tea infuser, avoid using bleaching agents on it. It will deform the plastic, and it can affect the way it functions naturally. Using harsh bleaching agents on plastic tea infusers may make the plastic brittle or unstable. And may even leave a residue within the top layer of plastic. This may get transferred into your tea when you want to use it and affect the taste of your tea.
If you use silicone infusers for brewing your tea because theanine and theophylline are attracted to metals, you should know that any stain on a silicon-based infuser cleans off very easily with standard cleaning materials. So, you don’t need to bother too much.
How should you take care of your tea infuser? If you don’t want your tea infuser to get clogged, ensure you wash it and rinse it thoroughly immediately after each use. This extends the time it takes to get stained.
How to clean your teapot using vinegar and baking soda
You can use white vinegar and baking soda in many ways to clean your teapot.
How to clean your teapot if it is a little bit dirty.
- If your teapot is not very dirty, you can clean it by pouring a cup of vinegar or four tablespoons of baking soda, then fill the pot with boiling water.
- Allow the pot to remain in this mixture overnight; it will melt any gunk in it.
- Wash inside the teapot with a rag, or give it a gentle scrub with a small cleaning brush or plastic pot scrubber.
- Rinse your teapot thoroughly to remove any leftover residue.
How to clean your teapot if it is very dirty
- Fill a large pot halfway with water, then position it on your gas cooker so it will boil.
- After a few minutes, turn off the immediately you turn off the heat, fill about one-quarter of the large pot with vinegar, then place your teapot in this solution to soak overnight.
- Wash the inner part of your teapot with a rag, or give it a little scrub with a small cleaning brush or plastic brush scrubber.
- Rinse the teapot very well the next day to remove any remnants.
To prevent a buildup in your teapot, ensure you clean your pot at least twice a month.
Conclusion
If you don’t mix your tea correctly, you will get a slimy tea, and you might find it disgusting to consume it. So, ensure you brew your tea properly to enjoy it the way you should.
Also, make sure you wash your tea utensils like your teacup, teapot, or tea infuser thoroughly immediately after use to prevent a build-up of bacteria that may give your tea a slimy texture.