How to Fix a Broken Teapot

How to Fix a Broken Teapot

Last week, I bought a new Tokoname Kyusu at Palais des Thés in Brussels. I had been looking for a decent clay teapot to brew green tea for a while and the black Tokoname one from Palais des Thés was the one I picked. It’s the most expensive one in their store so it is supposed to be pretty decent. It has an in-built strainer that is located on the spout of the teapot. It’s an easy to use teapot and I’m really happy I added this one to my collection.

Source: https://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/kyusu-marui-traditional-japanese-teapot-0-2-l.html

The teapot itself is a Japanese Kyusu. It has a side handle instead of a classic handle.

Alas, this is not a review of the teapot but rather a ‘how to fix your teapot’ post. When I arrived home, I admired my new possession and put it in the cupboard next to its newly acquired brothers and sisters. After waking up the next day, the first things I did was putting on the kettle and deciding which green tea I wanted to brew. While preparing the teapot, I dropped the lid on the kitchen countertop and the unthinkable happened: the lid was broken.

Don’t know where to buy tea online in Europe? I made a list with over 80 online shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here. 

First attempt

Despite feeling heartbroken and devastated, it was my own fault so I decided to look for a solution. I did not want to buy a new teapot right away as I had only bought it the previous day. I always have some superglue at hand so I tried fixing the teapot that way. This did not prove successful when I poured hot water in the teapot to see if it would hold. After two tests; it did not hold. The glue was not resistant to water so the first attempt was not a success.

Second attempt

My initial thought after seeing the first attempt fail miserably was that nothing could fix my teapot. If super glue can’t fix it, nothing can. That is why I tried to fix it with adhesive tape. It did not look pretty but at least I got a few steeps out of the teapot before the lid broke down again. So another failed attempt.

Third attempt

I did not want to give up and what is a logical thing to do next? That’s right. If you are out of inspiration, use the internet. The internet always offers a solution to (almost) every problem. And this time, I was lucky because I found a possible solution to my problem. Glueing the lid back together with JB Marine Weld. This is supposed to be the strongest glue in the world. It’s resistant to water and temperatures up to 500 degrees Celcius. This glue is used for boats and even cars so I guess you could say it’s pretty strong.

I was a bit sceptical because it’s a bit weird to use glue for boats and cars to glue a teapot back together. And what about toxicity? It says that once cured, it’s not toxic anymore. After browsing the internet some more, I found some people who used this glue to fix their Yixing teapots and everything worked out fine when they did it. I decided to buy the glue on Amazon UK myself to fix my beloved possession so I could finally use it properly.

Once I received the glue, I immediately went to work. I put the two components together and put it on the lid I was trying to fix. The glue had to dry for 24 hours so the waiting game was on.

Once the glue was supposed to be rock solid, I did not get a weird smell but I didn’t want to take any risks. I put the lid in boiling water to make sure it would hold and all the residue glue would be gone. After this was done, I poured hot water in the teapot and put the lid on to see if it would hold. After doing this a few times, there were no small glue particles anymore so I figured it was time to brew tea in it.

Have you considered subscribing to Tea Adventures? You can enter your email address in the sidebar and get updates whenever I publish a new article. You never have to miss an article again by joining our mailing list.

Fixing the lid

I know you can still see where the lid was broken and I could have done a better job at fixing it but I did not really care how it would look. I just wanted to fix my teapot. If you have a lot of patience, you can fix broken teapots without leaving a trace.  As I said, this wasn’t really that important to me. I like my teapot the way it is right now; it tells a story. Every time I look at this teapot and its grey crack, it reminds me that I dropped the lid before even brewing in it. If you care for the looks, you can do amazing things with this glue and restore your teaware to its former glory.

Brewing tea

Everything went smooth and I can say I successfully fixed my teapot. One downside is that the lid is no perfect fit anymore but I guess that is better than having no lid at all.

Conclusion

If you have a broken teapot that you want to fix, I really recommend buying some JB Marine Weld. After applying the glue, make sure you have tested and boiled your teaware before brewing tea in it. This way, you make sure there are no glue particles left in the teapot and that everything is fixed correctly. In the beginning, I was a bit sceptical myself but now I’m fully convinced that this is a good and cheap way to fix your broken teaware. I know there are a few other and better alternatives available but these are a lot more expensive. JB Weld is, in my opinion, the cheapest way to fix broken teapots, cups, saucers,…