Removing the odor in tea tins.
I’ve been trying for about a week now to clean the odors from previous teas out of my David’s tea tins. So far, I’ve had them airing for more than a week and I also did a quick vinegar water bath. They still smell very strongly of Read My Lips, Goji Pop, and Toasted Walnut. Right now I have some baking soda in tea bags sitting in the closed tins. Normally, I wouldn’t care but I have some nice pure blacks coming in the mail that I wanted to put in tins and I really don’t want to taint the flavor. Am I just worrying to much about the odor? Does anyone have any tricks or tips for this?
It sounds odd, but I’ve had luck with leaving them outside exposed to sunlight. If it is a lovely day I’ll place a few (after cleaning) to dry and air out on my front deck, sometimes for a few days consecutively. It works quite well for me.
I hope this is helpful to you. :)
I rubbed mine with baking soda and water. You could also try leaving some baking soda in the tin for awhile and see if that helps.
Something I’m finding helpful for future cleaning, is I put the tea inside a plastic baggie in the tin. That way the little pieces of tea that really carry odours don’t get stuck in all the nooks and crannies.
I tried removing the odor from a Teavana Tea Tin with Mandala Tea Smart Soak. It worked well but there was a problem. I let it sit overnight in smart soak. In the morning I did not rinse it completely and went to work. When I got home I discovered the smart soak had removed some of the liner from the tea tin. I don’t know if the liner of the tin would have been removed had I washed it completely.
A lot of David’s teas have artificial flavouring added. These scents are really hard to get out of tins. I had one tin for David’s Coconut Oolong. I tried everything to get the smell out. I cleaned it with baking soda & vinegar, I let it sit with baking soda. Nothing got the smell out so I threw the tin away. I hope you have better luck than I did.
I swear by denture tablets. I use 1-2 tabs depending on the strength of the stink, and soak in HOT water for 30minutes. scrub and rinse and they should be good to go!
I stick with baking soda. It seems like the mildest stuff to put in a tin. Wash/rinse x’s 3, let air dry (if you’re in a hurry add a bit of time with a hairdryer.)
I’ve been trying to just put similar smelling teas in the tins I can’t get smells out of – nutty tea in a nutty smelling tin, mint in a minty tin, fruit tea in fruity tins, etc!
as a related topic, how about paint/paint sealant smells? im experimenting by painting a mason jar black to block the light, since they are already air tight. its been a success, but there is a light odor of paint sealant inside the jar, and i want to keep my tea FAR from that. >.> a simple soap wash/soak has had limited success, and i dont have anything els on hand ATM to try out.
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