Hi Teachat,
I'm mostly a Chinese tea drinker, though hoping to explore Japanese tea more in the near future. I've only recently begun to appreciate the extent to which water can improve the taste of tea, and i've been wondering about buying a traditional kettle, as I've heard cast-iron etc mentioned favourably for its effect on water.
I know very little about this, but from my brief research I've come across four options that look interesting: a cast-iron tetsubin, or a kettle made from yixing zisha, silver, or Lin's purion.
Having never tried tea made with any of these kettles, I'd love to hear any impressions you have about how these materials differ in their effects, which you prefer, or any pairing preferences you have.
I can imagine zisha and purion kettles having a softening effect on the water, increasing body, silver being brighter, and I don't have any conception of the effect of cast-iron.
Yourthoughts or advice would be a big help.
Re: Kettle Material Options
I have a Tetsubin and a Lin's clay kettle (not purion). I love them, but I wouldn't want to pin down all too precisely what they do to the water - this is a super subjective topic.
I myself am content with the fact that a well-made kettle will enhance my tea experience by a lot, but I do not have the impression that they only go with some teas. You can get more precise opinions on this, for example here:
http://mattchasblog.blogspot.de/2011/06 ... water.html
In the end, you'll have to try that yourself. My tip: If you have the money, get a Tetsubin and / or a good clay kettle, and try them out. You'll like them.
I myself am content with the fact that a well-made kettle will enhance my tea experience by a lot, but I do not have the impression that they only go with some teas. You can get more precise opinions on this, for example here:
http://mattchasblog.blogspot.de/2011/06 ... water.html
In the end, you'll have to try that yourself. My tip: If you have the money, get a Tetsubin and / or a good clay kettle, and try them out. You'll like them.