Cast Iron Kettle Seasoning?

[Johnnymruss]

I have been using a new cast iron kettle for a couple months now and I love it! I use it at least twice a day for my green, black, oolong, and the occasional herbal teas. I get most of my tea from Adagio so I know they’re good quality, but I’ve noticed that when I get to the third or so steeping or when I’m enjoying a more delicate tea, they seem to acquire a bit of the cast iron taste. I make sure to wipe out the inside of my kettle with a damp paper towel at least every other day or every two days and I usually get a good amount of black on the towel when I wipe it down. Does it just take time to “season” the cast iron kettle similar to a skillet? Or is there some other way I should be cleaning the inside to make sure I don’t get that cast iron flavor in my teas?

[wyardley]

If it's the kind that's enameled on the inside, there is no need for seasoning. If it's actually uncoated cast iron on the inside, it should not be used for brewing tea in; only for boiling water.

Whether enameled or not, a cast iron pot is probably not the most suitable device for brewing tea.

[edkrueger]

Ditto. There is however, a good use for the cast iron teapot: keeping already brewed tea warm. Just be sure to heat it well before putting the tea in it.

[Johnnymruss]

I don't actually use the cast iron kettle to boil the water. I boil the water in our "everyday" kettle and then pour the water into the cast iron kettle which has a strainer for the tea. After it's done steeping I remove the tea & strainer and then use a cast iron tea candle warmer to keep the tea warm.
Thanks.

[the_economist]

so i'm presuming your 'kettle' is not actually a kettle but a castiron teapot since it comes with a strainer. in which case, its coated with enamel inside right? then there shouldn't be any smell or anything like that.

and as wyardley said, its prob not that great a pot to be using for brewing tea.

[entropyembrace]

I don't actually use the cast iron kettle to boil the water. I boil the water in our "everyday" kettle and then pour the water into the cast iron kettle which has a strainer for the tea. After it's done steeping I remove the tea & strainer and then use a cast iron tea candle warmer to keep the tea warm.
Thanks.

It´s a cast iron tea POT then....and cast iron pots are usually not very good in reality.

Try using a porcelain teapot...they´re much better for brewing just about anything.

Certain clays can be best for specific teas but for a teapot that you can brew anything in porcelain is hard to beat...and it´s usually not expensive either.

[gingkoseto]

I wonder too if the kettle mentioned is coated inside or not. Since iron flavor was tasted, probably either it's not coated or the lining was already broken? If it's coated, boiling is a quick damage. But I did see kettles with strainer but no lining inside.

To my understanding, seasoning is to protect the kettle from rusting, but not prevent the iron flavor from entering the water. I can't imagine an iron kettle that doesn't release iron flavor to the water. That's why I had never wanted one. But just recently, I was thinking of maybe trying one for boiling puerh But then I really don't want to deal with something that you have to take care of all the time to prevent rust

A few months ago in a tea store in Beijing, the store owner used a cast iron teapot of about 2 liters to boil a tablespoonful of Wuyi Bai Ji Guan (even with a pinch of table salt in water). It didn't taste very special to me, but tasted pretty good.