Caring for Your Bone China Teaware
All English Ladies Company teaware is designed and created with luxury in mind. Every piece is made from bone china meaning that it really is the most sophisticated way to enjoy your drinking and dining experience. Bone china is also the strongest ceramic material meaning that as well as being an indulgence for the here and now, it is also an investment for the future.
But does a ‘cuppa’ really taste better in a bone china?
Well, yes!
Bone china has an incredibly smooth surface, meaning that the natural tannins in the tea do not get stuck to the side of the cup, thus maintaining the integrity of flavour in the tea. If a mug or cup is bumpy and porous, the vessel will also retain the taste of other liquids, another thing which will alter the taste of your tea. Additionally, this means that bone china is far less susceptible to those nasty dark tea stains that are often almost impossible to get rid of! Which brings us neatly on to the topic of cleaning and caring for your teaware.
Cleaning and Caring for your bone china teaware
Although collectable items, our cups, saucers, plates and spoons have all been laboratory tested for food use, so you should feel free to use them to treat yourself to an extra special afternoon tea, slice of cake or coffee break whenever you feel like it. We do use real Gold and Platinum in the creation of all our pieces though, so you should avoid putting them in the microwave and when cleaning and caring for your products, some extra TLC should be applied.
When cleaning items after dining, although dishwasher safe, it is recommended that you hand wash them to avoid discolouration and eliminate the risk of them being chipped or cracked during loading or unloading the dishwasher. As we’ve discussed, by its very nature, bone china is super hard wearing, but no ceramic material is totally impervious to breakages so a careful and considered approach to cleaning your teaware is always best.
So, how best to wash my teaware?
Wash (or at least rinse) plates, cups and saucers immediately after use. Leaving food or drink residue on them for long periods of time could damage the integrity of the product.
When handwashing, a mild liquid detergent should be used, and each plate should be washed individually. Avoid putting all plates into the sink at once and instead, take them off the side one at a time and wash each one in turn. Also, ensure you use a non-abrasive cloth and perhaps consider using a silicone draining mat to place your dishes on once they are washed before drying. This will minimise the risk of them being damaged on your stainless steel or ceramic draining board.
Dishwasher rules
As aforementioned, our English Ladies Company teaware uses real Gold and Platinum paint so it really is best practise to handwash. However, in general, it is perfectly safe to clean your bone china in the dishwasher, just remember a couple of cautionary things when you do;
- Do not to overload the rack when placing items in the dishwasher. Allow a small amount of space between each item.
- Position your china away from metal items in the dishwasher as even light contact could cause scratches, chips or cracks.
In Summary
Bone china really is the best way to enjoy your drinking and dining experience. We want you to enjoy your English Ladies pieces not only for their beauty and splendour but also to enhance the pleasure in a special afternoon tea or every day ‘cuppa’. And, so long as they are cared for correctly, they can be passed down for future generations to continue creating these memorable moments for years to come.