Tetsubin
A tetsubin is a Japanese cast iron kettle for boiling water over a heat source; enamel-lined cast iron teapots are a different object.
Definition
The tetsubin (鉄瓶, "iron pot") is a heavy cast iron kettle with a spout, a lid and an arched handle, developed in Japan around the 17th and 18th centuries for heating water over a hearth or brazier. It became associated with sencha drinking, which spread among the merchant and literati classes in the Edo period as a less formal alternative to matcha ceremony. The best-known production center is Iwate prefecture, where Nanbu tetsubin (南部鉄瓶) are made in Morioka and Oshu (Mizusawa). Yamagata also has a long casting tradition. Hand-made tetsubin are cast in sand molds, often with surface patterns such as the raised dots called arare (hailstones), and the interior is left as bare iron, sometimes treated by heating to form a protective oxide layer. The word is widely misused outside Japan. Most cast iron "tetsubin" sold for tea are enamel-lined teapots meant only for steeping, properly called tetsukyusu. They must never be placed on a stove; the enamel cracks. A true tetsubin is for boiling water, and the water is then poured into a separate teapot.
In Depth
Use and care: a bare-iron tetsubin is used for water only. After boiling, empty it and let residual heat dry the interior with the lid off. White or orange mineral scale inside is normal and protective; do not scrub it out. Rust spots are best treated by boiling water with used tea leaves several times, which forms a dark iron-tannin layer.
Some drinkers find water from an iron kettle tastes softer or rounder. Small amounts of iron do dissolve into the water; the taste effect is widely reported but not well quantified.
How to tell them apart: look inside. Bare grey or black iron means a kettle; a smooth black or colored glaze means an enamel-lined teapot, usually sold with a removable steel infuser.
See Also
- Japanese Teaware
- Nanbu Ironware
- Water for Tea