
Aug 17th 15 4:22 am
Posts: 1953
Joined: Apr 6th 08 11:02 pm
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Aug 17th 15 3:51 pm
Posts: 1657
Joined: Sep 2nd 13 7:22 am
Location: in your tea closet
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
i've pretty much drifted into using tetsubin (both kunzan and suzuki) and then am back into using clay kettles.bryan_drinks_tea wrote:I have a question.
I'm noticing most posts here use tetsubin...but not many clay kettles!
For those that have both clay and tetsubin, do you really notice a difference? I only use clay kettles at the moment, but I'm definitely willing to learn.
the difference is drastic and quite significant. if you brew some green tea or simply any tea with tetsubin boiled water, leave the tea in a cup for a few hours, you will return to see a really significantly darkened, sometimes even dark brown, blackish liquid in the cup.. this is due to the iron in the water reacting with tea pigments.
doesnt happen so much for clay kettles, unless you use a toko shudei pot to boil water, or some other clays that have high iron content.
olfactorily iron seem to give good heightening/intensitification/sharpening of aromas, but one has to watch the after taste which can become rough or at worse, metallic.
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
Very cool, and good to know. Thank you.kyarazen wrote:i've pretty much drifted into using tetsubin (both kunzan and suzuki) and then am back into using clay kettles.bryan_drinks_tea wrote:I have a question.
I'm noticing most posts here use tetsubin...but not many clay kettles!
For those that have both clay and tetsubin, do you really notice a difference? I only use clay kettles at the moment, but I'm definitely willing to learn.
the difference is drastic and quite significant. if you brew some green tea or simply any tea with tetsubin boiled water, leave the tea in a cup for a few hours, you will return to see a really significantly darkened, sometimes even dark brown, blackish liquid in the cup.. this is due to the iron in the water reacting with tea pigments.
doesnt happen so much for clay kettles, unless you use a toko shudei pot to boil water, or some other clays that have high iron content.
olfactorily iron seem to give good heightening/intensitification/sharpening of aromas, but one has to watch the after taste which can become rough or at worse, metallic.

Re: Show off your Kettle!!
I still wonder about this... Urushi is basically a resin from a certain tree, right? How is it possible that this will withstand the hot temperatures of the kettle on charcoal fire?blairswhitaker wrote: Most of these kettle have one or two small urushi plugs in the base, the casting method leaves one or two small holes in the kettle and then these are filled with a mixture of iron sand and urushi. not all are built this way but most. This stuff does not deal well with being exposed to raw flame, but it can last for a very long time over electric or charcoal flame, though it quickly degrades if places on the heating source while the kettle is empty.
I searched for some footage showing the production process, but the bottom hole part seems to be absend every time

The mold is opnened, no hole left... has it been sealed alredy? The spot in the center is brighter than the rest.
Bottom is seen at 1min59
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U50ItP0gvf8
same thing here at 28sec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxZNrGw9DQ
one more time, 9min 50sec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m2phhMAJIY

Oct 7th 15 1:41 pm
Posts: 1657
Joined: Sep 2nd 13 7:22 am
Location: in your tea closet
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
urushi can stand high temperatures. i had an acquaintance in france whom repaired a broken pot with raw urushi and it worked well on flame after that. but still over time it will break down..
if urushi is well cured, it is so hard that metal cannot scratch it.
and yes.. tetsubins often have 2 urushi plugs at the base.. it is urushi + metal filings.

and yes.. tetsubins often have 2 urushi plugs at the base.. it is urushi + metal filings.
miig wrote:
I still wonder about this... Urushi is basically a resin from a certain tree, right? How is it possible that this will withstand the hot temperatures of the kettle on charcoal fire?
I searched for some footage showing the production process, but the bottom hole part seems to be absend every time
The mold is opnened, no hole left... has it been sealed alredy? The spot in the center is brighter than the rest.
Bottom is seen at 1min59
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U50ItP0gvf8
same thing here at 28sec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxZNrGw9DQ
one more time, 9min 50sec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m2phhMAJIY
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
Thanks for the reply - great material, both your info and Urushi itself 
I may have found a video which shows the process - please see from 4.20 on - is he sealing the pinhole?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8vhl8aj8JQ

I may have found a video which shows the process - please see from 4.20 on - is he sealing the pinhole?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8vhl8aj8JQ
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
Got my first real Tetsubin yesterday. Very happy I am about this. Its really so very - imposing, sturdy, massive, imposing and, well.. just so incredibly Japanese



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Last edited by miig on Oct 17th 15 7:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Oct 17th 15 6:39 pm
Posts: 1144
Joined: Jul 10th 13 5:38 am
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Japan.
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
Nice item indeed ... take care, it's the beginning of the end ...miig wrote:Got my first real Tetsubin yesterday. Very happy I am about this.

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Re: Show off your Kettle!!
hahaha, great Photo!
I'll do what I can to avoid that, but there are so many nice things on these auction platforms
I'll do what I can to avoid that, but there are so many nice things on these auction platforms

Re: Show off your Kettle!!
I missed this post when it first appeared, and am quite glad I clicked on the comments about it. Your kettle is simply gorgeous. Enjoy it!miig wrote:Got my first real Tetsubin yesterday. Very happy I am about this. Its really so very - imposing, sturdy, massive, imposing and, well.. just so incredibly Japanese![]()
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Oct 22nd 15 6:12 pm
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th 15 11:03 am
Location: on the road
Re: Show off your Kettle!!
Wow, such a nice collection Tsubo. Love that little nambu on the left.Tsubo wrote:Nice item indeed ... take care, it's the beginning of the end ...miig wrote:Got my first real Tetsubin yesterday. Very happy I am about this.