Cast Iron (Tetsubin) Kettle to boil water?

[auhckw]

Immediately after i recieved My tetsubin I ceaned it and boiled water a few times, and the next day I did side by side comparison with electrical induction boilers, glass, and stainless steel, the same water tasted diffrent, the tetsubin water is noticable, I tried it with 3 persons, each did not know which one was the water from the tetsubin, I asked which water tasted the cleanest and freshest, and a slight sweet taste, all said it was the water from the tetsubin.
I bought mine from Horaido teashop, the gray tetsubins are made in Nara prefecture, it has hollow handle, it is activated iron, and no urushi on the inside, only a small layer at the joining poit and the sprout to prevent it from leaking, it started rusting already, it has white spots too.
The only inconvenience is that it needs 25 minutes to boil 1 liter of water on an electric heater, and as Hojo site mentioned it has good effects for green tea, specially japanese, it is not best for oolong, I am planing to buy a purion kettle from Lin`s for oolong.

Would you mind telling how much is the tetsubin you bought? I saw some nice tetsubin at Hojo, but price is real interesting also.

[Tead Off]

Would you mind telling how much is the tetsubin you bought? I saw some nice tetsubin at Hojo, but price is real interesting also.

I have also been to Hojo's shop at the Gardens where I got to see and handle the tetsubin he carries. Excellent quality and you learn a lot by handling them and seeing what they look and feel like. The ones from the woman (Suzuki?) are in another class. Real works of art and possibly one of a kinds. Many of the same tetsubin are offered by Artistic Nippon in the lower range, Kunzan?sp, and, other sites I have seen. The good thing about Hojo is he tells you clearly how the kettles are made. Many of the other sellers are not knowledgeable, just merchants. But these other sellers usually don't have the markup that Hojo does. To me, buying something in his store is unthinkable when I can get the same product for less on his website or through another vendor. The difference in price is astonishing. I'd much rather save the money and buy good tea to put into my pots. Patience in this case is not only a virtue but saves a bundle.

[auhckw]

Would you mind telling how much is the tetsubin you bought? I saw some nice tetsubin at Hojo, but price is real interesting also.

I have also been to Hojo's shop at the Gardens where I got to see and handle the tetsubin he carries. Excellent quality and you learn a lot by handling them and seeing what they look and feel like. The ones from the woman (Suzuki?) are in another class. Real works of art and possibly one of a kinds. Many of the same tetsubin are offered by Artistic Nippon in the lower range, Kunzan?sp, and, other sites I have seen. The good thing about Hojo is he tells you clearly how the kettles are made. Many of the other sellers are not knowledgeable, just merchants. But these other sellers usually don't have the markup that Hojo does. To me, buying something in his store is unthinkable when I can get the same product for less on his website or through another vendor. The difference in price is astonishing. I'd much rather save the money and buy good tea to put into my pots. Patience in this case is not only a virtue but saves a bundle.

I agree that @ Hojo they are very detail about what they sell, eg their website, it has so much information about the teawares / teas they sell, which is very good. But unfortunately, it ain't cheap to buy at his shop compared to his online store. I wonder will he accept online order from malaysians But that said, if we don't support his shop, and he closes it down, then we don't get to visit and touch/taste his products

I am still trying to source around for other vendors here in malaysia who has his range of products, but mostly shops here sell puerh more...

[Cyphre]

What is activated iron? I am sorry if this seems like a silly question but from a short look online to try and figure it out all I could find was that activated iron is iron that has been soaked in acid and can create a pyrophoric quality.

[TIM]

What is activated iron? I am sorry if this seems like a silly question but from a short look online to try and figure it out all I could find was that activated iron is iron that has been soaked in acid and can create a pyrophoric quality.

C. Activation of Iron (釜焼)

Once casting is completed, the iron kettle is baked in charcoal fire. The charcoal fire is burning with less oxygen and it generates carbon monoxide and takes away the oxygen from the surface of iron. The fire reduces iron from Fe3+ into Fe2+. In other word, the surface of iron kettle is activated. Without this process, cast iron kettle is nothing but kettle. It does not really change the taste of water and tea. As a result of this process, the internal surface of kettle becomes blue-gray color. This is the typical color of activated/reduced iron.

http://hojotea.com/categ_e/tetsubin.htm

Hojotea has a wonderful post on this subject. Enjoy ~ T

[auhckw]

What is activated iron? I am sorry if this seems like a silly question but from a short look online to try and figure it out all I could find was that activated iron is iron that has been soaked in acid and can create a pyrophoric quality.

C. Activation of Iron (釜焼)

Once casting is completed, the iron kettle is baked in charcoal fire. The charcoal fire is burning with less oxygen and it generates carbon monoxide and takes away the oxygen from the surface of iron. The fire reduces iron from Fe3+ into Fe2+. In other word, the surface of iron kettle is activated. Without this process, cast iron kettle is nothing but kettle. It does not really change the taste of water and tea. As a result of this process, the internal surface of kettle becomes blue-gray color. This is the typical color of activated/reduced iron.

http://hojotea.com/categ_e/tetsubin.htm

Hojotea has a wonderful post on this subject. Enjoy ~ T

Poison

[TIM]

Poison

For the mind ~ or the bank

[Herb_Master]

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http://hojotea.com/categ_e/tetsubin.htm

Hojotea has a wonderful post on this subject. Enjoy ~ T

Indeed he does

The following combination show typical effects:

Kunzan or Seikodo + Banko purple clay = Good
Kunzan or Seikodo + Sado or Tokoname red clay = Not Good
Suzuki Morihisa + Banko purple clay = Not Good
Suzuki Morihisa + Sado or Tokoname red clay = Good
Suzuki Mohirisa + Shigaraki clay = Good
Kunzan or Seikodo + Shigaraki clay = Good
When brewing tea, the "best" Tetsubin + the "best" water + the "best" Clay Tea Pot will not guarantee the best result. You must be very careful, and select the correct combination of Tetsubin, water, and Clay Tea Pot when preparing tea.

So is there a type of tetsubin best suited to Yixing Zu Ni

[Tead Off]

So is there a type of tetsubin best suited to Yixing Zu Ni

Hojo recommends tetsubin for green tea and certain puerh. He also told me that if you are using Banko clay or zhuni, you do not need to use a tetsubin as those clays do the job already.

[auhckw]

So is there a type of tetsubin best suited to Yixing Zu Ni

Hojo recommends tetsubin for green tea and certain puerh. He also told me that if you are using Banko clay or zhuni, you do not need to use a tetsubin as those clays do the job already.

I am going to visit him this weekend. Hope he will say the same...

[Oni]

My tetsubin is not from the main site, it is frm the japanese version of the site, I saw similar stuff at a friend, so I asked the owner to order one for me, it was 24000 Yen, 280 $, plus a horrible shipping (EMS).
I also agree that the best way to learn about tea and teaware is to visit a great teahop like Hojo`s, it is hard to learn from pictures and descriptions, sometimes you must feel it and taste it.

[tenuki]

With my tetsubin you don't even have to taste the water, you can see a very clear difference. The change is large enough that I only use it for sencha and matcha - it makes oolongs too sweet and the iron is very noticeable. I have an antique I got here in the states for well under 200 bucks. (do a search for tetsubin on http://www.trocadero.com.. ). I know some folks say buying a new one is better, but I fail to see the difference in taste and anyway other folks say the old ones are better.

[starstern]

Would you mind telling how much is the tetsubin you bought? I saw some nice tetsubin at Hojo, but price is real interesting also.

I have also been to Hojo's shop at the Gardens where I got to see and handle the tetsubin he carries. Excellent quality and you learn a lot by handling them and seeing what they look and feel like. The ones from the woman (Suzuki?) are in another class. Real works of art and possibly one of a kinds. Many of the same tetsubin are offered by Artistic Nippon in the lower range, Kunzan?sp, and, other sites I have seen. The good thing about Hojo is he tells you clearly how the kettles are made. Many of the other sellers are not knowledgeable, just merchants. But these other sellers usually don't have the markup that Hojo does. To me, buying something in his store is unthinkable when I can get the same product for less on his website or through another vendor. The difference in price is astonishing. I'd much rather save the money and buy good tea to put into my pots. Patience in this case is not only a virtue but saves a bundle.

tetsubin are made by many " have you expored them all and found the one from hojotea as best in quality and durability ?

[starstern]

.... ..... .... ....
.... .... ....
.... ....

http://hojotea.com/categ_e/tetsubin.htm

Hojotea has a wonderful post on this subject. Enjoy ~ T

Indeed he does

The following combination show typical effects:

Kunzan or Seikodo + Banko purple clay = Good
Kunzan or Seikodo + Sado or Tokoname red clay = Not Good
Suzuki Morihisa + Banko purple clay = Not Good
Suzuki Morihisa + Sado or Tokoname red clay = Good
Suzuki Mohirisa + Shigaraki clay = Good
Kunzan or Seikodo + Shigaraki clay = Good
When brewing tea, the "best" Tetsubin + the "best" water + the "best" Clay Tea Pot will not guarantee the best result. You must be very careful, and select the correct combination of Tetsubin, water, and Clay Tea Pot when preparing tea.

So is there a type of tetsubin best suited to Yixing Zu Ni

how are they combined and used together ?