Got some stubborn tea stains? I heard much about Mandala Tea‘s Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver, so I had to try it out, so I purchased the 6oz bag with my last Mandala Tea order.
I admit, I like my DIY tea cleaning method of simply rubbing baking soda on everything. Baking soda usually does the trick on most tea stains, and I found it especially effective upkeep on teaware to keep it looking pretty years later. Baking soda is also very cheap, easy to find in stores and usually in everyone’s pantry.
However, there are some tea stains baking soda cannot get out – hard core tea stains or tea strainers with all their hard to reach little holes. My poor tea owls get frustrated on how they can’t get their tea strainers looking pretty.
Let’s give Mandala Tea‘s Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver a quick test before issuing an Oolong Owl challenge!
Instructions on the back of the package:
I made a 1/4 of the recipe, using hot water from my kettle.
Our first test subject: gongfu tea strainer with some tea staining.
Dunked in, the mixture fizzes and bubbles away with debris immediately coming off the tea strainer.
After 2 minutes, I removed the tea strainer – WHOA!
The strainer looked even better after I did a quick rinse in clean water! It looks brand new again!
On my post on Gravity Steeper care, I used baking soda cleaning which prolonged the life of my gravity steepers. However, my first gravity steeper looks HORRIFIC. I took poor care of it, then I gave it to my roommates to use, who also failed at cleaning it. I’ve scrubbed and soaked this bloody thing many times with minor improvement. This gravity steeper was cast off to the side, waiting for the day I decide to throw it away. I figured this steeper was a lost cause especially since it is made of plastic. A true Oolong Owl challenge for Mandala Tea‘s Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver!
Behold! THE TEA STAINS!
Inside, really dark tea stains that I could only get out if I scraped it with a knife. Yuck Yuck, I’m embarrassed!
I filled up the steeper with hot water and the required amount of mix. It immediately went to work, fizzing about.
2 minutes in – YOU CAN SEE THE TEA STAINS MELTING OFF. DANG.
I let my horrific Gravity Steeper soak for 10 minutes. In retrospec, I should of just took apart and submerged the entire thing.
After 10 minutes – Drastic, amazing improvement! The gravity steeper is cleared of most of the stains!
There are still some leftover hard tea stains, but I could probably do another round to cleaning to remove them.
On the left, the ex-horrific gravity steeping. On the right, a 6 month old gravity steeper. The old one has some cloudyness on the plastic. probably from my earlier attempts to clean it with harsh scrubbing, but it looks pretty good!
Other observations of the Mandala Tea‘s Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver:
- The Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver is has very little scent which you can only smell if you stand over the fizzing teaware. There is a slight old stale tea scent and a bit of a sourness.
- The cleaner works very quickly and is easy to use.
- Afterward, the teaware has a thin, soapy slippery feel, so handle with care when you rinse off.
- I noticed an improvement in my tea flavor with the very clean tea strainer – my tea was more cleaner, true to flavor and less contaminated. It was like using a brand new tea strainer.
- Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver soaking got all the tiny spots full of tea stain clean – think how this stuff would be amazing at cleaning inside a teapot spout!
In the end, Mandala Tea‘s Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver is awesome and magical! Mandala Tea‘s Smart Soak Tea Stain Dissolver turns your teaware super clean for guests and great tasting tea in squeaky clean teaware!
I didn’t think it would work that fast and effective at cleaning – I’m very impressed with the results and will be buying this product again! Afterward, I went and cleaned every piece of teaware I own and I now all my tea ware is sparkly! The cleaning power is amazing, especially for this tea blogger that needs sparkling tea ware for tea photographs.
