What is a Cast Iron Teapot?Cast iron teapot was traditionally used as kettles for boiling water. These brewing vessels are also known in Japan as tetsubin. Cast iron kettles are very popular because of its ability to distribute heat evenly. Nowadays, they are popular because of its ability to keep your tea warm for extended periods of time allowing you to drink your tea throughout the day. Exceptional craftsmanship is the hallmark of every Japanese tea kettles. For more than four hundred years now, Japan's strong tradition supports this craftsmanship. Tetsubin have been faithful servants to emperors, scholars, artists, and tea connoisseurs. These brewing vessels originated as Japanese household pot-bellied cast iron kettles and were a class apart from chagama, a handle-less and spout less iron water kettles used in Chanoyu. Because these kettles were given both handle and spouts, tetsubin were meant for heating water for brewing tea. The intricacy of the design and surface embellishment of these kettles makes a person think of them as a status object instead of a functional use. The classic tetsubin has a dark brown or black pebbled surface that is embossed with simple designs. Later on, the size of cast iron teapots became sleeker and smaller and the designs more pleasing and artistic. Interior enamel coating and stainless steel infusers have been added to today's teapots creating a perfect combination of form and function. Today, beautiful tetsubin comes in contemporary colors and shapes as well as heat-proof trivets and iron teacups to complete the whole tea presentation.
|
