These are a couple of tea caddies, for storing tea leaves. They are made of pewter. But pewter contains lead. So I never used them for storing tea, only keep them for display. Anyway, there are plenty of other tea storage options besides these kinds of tea caddies.
3 comments:
According to Teaparker, it's no problem to use them (I saw him use his). Lead being a metal, I don't see how it would be absorbed by the the leaves in the absence of water or a high temperature. And since they are good for fresh, green tea you would use them with leaves you plan to drink quickly anyway (not like puer you would keep for decades).
Yeah, that might be true. Maybe the leaves won't absorb any lead from the metal. But I just like to be on the safe side. Besides, there are all kinds of stainless steel tea canisters that will do the job too. Except they are not as nice to look at as the pewter ones.
I just keep these around for their aesthetic value.
But if one wanted to use pewter tea canisters, they should be seasoned first, by putting a small amount of the tea into the canister, shaking the tea around inside the can, and letting it sit for 1-2 weeks, so that the tea can absorb any funky odors; and release tea odor into the canister.
At least, that's what I was told by the tea shop owner when I bought them.
Royal Selangor brand pewter do not contain lead. They are my choice and very well made/air tide.
-Toki
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