Let's par-tea!
Get your tea pots spotless and shiny for National Tea Day and beyond
The British love drinking tea. It gets many up in the morning and it brings them together in the afternoon. And in between, there is always time for a 'cuppa'. Every year on 21st April National Tea Day is celebrated in tea rooms, cafés, hotels and pubs. Let’s hope they can enjoy their drink from a shiny teapot and spotlessly clean cup or mug!
It's tea time...
Many caterers, F&B managers, restaurant and coffee shop owners can give themselves a pat on their back for removing single use plastics and disposable cups from their beverage service.
But increasing the use of reusable washable cups will create a resurgence in the age-old problem of dealing with tannin and coffee staining.
Taking good care of tannin
Tannin is a chemical that naturally exists in tea and coffee as well as wine and other alcoholic beverages. It can stain crockery, metalware and glassware, leaves residues and often means that cups and glasses require a second wash, but still leave the dishwasher looking less than perfect. Bleaching has little effect except to make the stain mostly invisible.
Curiously, once tannin-stained ware has been ineffectively washed and then rinsed at +85degC, the stains can become harder to remove because they have been, effectively, 'baked on'.
An individual pleasure: forms and materials of tea dishes vary
Unspoiled pleasure: enjoying a cup of tea without water stains on the glassware
Delicate China demands a soft detergent
Red iron tea pot with tea bowl: Coloured dishes need detergent without bleach
The right detergent for stainless crockery
Assuming the dishwasher is in good working condition – there are no obstructed or clogged wash arms or strainers, the detergent and rinse aid are dosing correctly and that the machine is achieving correct temperature parameters – how to get rid of tanning stained crockery and glassware is usually down to the detergent choice.
Often, the only time caterers find they have a problem with tannin staining is when they change detergent, which is how a five-year old dishwasher with an otherwise unblemished record can suddenly begin underperforming.
Different dishware demand different detergents
Caterers often don’t know that there are different dishwashing detergents for different applications. In addition to a ‘standard’ dishwashing detergent, there are variants for glasswashing, pot and pan washing, cutlery renovating and ‘Chlorinated’ dishwashing detergent specially formulated for use where tannin staining is a problem – it gets teacups spotless and sparkling clean!
Which detergent is the right one? Anyone who buys a new professional dishwashing machine should ensure that a specialist not only installs and connects the appliance, but also makes all the necessary adjustments directly. This also includes the correct dosage of the detergent. There is a balanced interaction at play, and this should never get mixed-up.
Only in this way can a commercial dishwashing machine clean continuously and without loss of quality.
Time to shine
Let’s lay the table, invite friends and par-tea! Time to enjoy a nice cup of Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Jasmine or Oohlong with English scones, butter, cream and jam to celebrate stunning washing results on National Tea Day and beyond.
To find out more about how to get stunning washing results, please read our article on how changing detergents can interfere with the entire washing process. Or contact your local Meiko office for more information.
