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Japanese cast iron teapots

Legion

Staff member
Today I was in a thrift store and I scored a couple of vintage Japanese cast iron teapots. I have been wanting one for a while, so I was quite pleased. I've done some Googling and I believe they are made by Iwachu, judging from the stamp, but I am not sure of the age.

The enamel on the inside of the little one is pretty worn and rusty. The big one has some rust showing through as well, but not as badly. It there a way to fix that up? Does it matter if I give it a good wash, or should I just keep it for decoration? The little one would only hold one cup anyway.

Do any of you guys use these and have any tips for me? (other than keeping it dry, obviously.)

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The rust is not a problem, or health concern. Recommended when purchasing a new pot is to clean it with detergent ONE TIME and then rinse with hot water after each use. Personally, with your pots I would rinse with steaming hot water a few times-your call.

When finished making tea just rinse and air dry or as I do, dry the inside with paper towels.

Be careful not to over-steep and the tea becomes bitter -each pot has it's own "Temperament" when steeping. Also, when steeping green teas KEPT THE LID OFF. Generally the same rule applies for steeping minutes in cast-iron pots, 3-5 for black teas, 3 or less for green-will depend on your pot and preference.

You have two great pots that will last a lifetime and then some!
 

Legion

Staff member
lets see pictures of the inside if that is possible.................JR

Sure. As you can see, after cleaning the glaze on the full size pot is not too bad and I think it will be quite usable (in fact I am going to use it shortly). The little ones enamel is pretty much gone and I think it is stuffed. Oh well, it looks nice on the shelf.

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Great score!

I have a small one that I use on a regular basis. I think it's great. I am not a traditionalist and thus use it with a wire strainer to steep all kinds of tea. It works well, retains heat beautifully, and looks really cool.
 
The little one is fine the enamel is mostly a convenience not a necessity. Clean it out as best you can with a Scotchbrite pad and fill with damp tea leaves - no sitting water and the tannins from the tea will react with any remaining rust blackening the iron and helping to protect it. I do this regularly on the bottom of mine as well by placing in a saucer of leaves. After use I simply rinse out the pot and stuff with paper towel to absorb moisture for a few min. before putting away. It will season beautifully with use.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
No idea how to fix it but when you go back to the city, drop by Lupicia in QV Building. The man that works in there might be able to help you. They have a pricey selection of tea in there but, it's *very* nice tea... If you stay in QV, there's an Asian grocery upstairs and they got nice green teas...
 
The little one is fine the enamel is mostly a convenience not a necessity. Clean it out as best you can with a Scotchbrite pad and fill with damp tea leaves - no sitting water and the tannins from the tea will react with any remaining rust blackening the iron and helping to protect it. I do this regularly on the bottom of mine as well by placing in a saucer of leaves. After use I simply rinse out the pot and stuff with paper towel to absorb moisture for a few min. before putting away. It will season beautifully with use.
I'm no expert by any means. But I have been using my mother's and grandmother's cast iron for sometime and have had no trouble. With getting sick. I believe I would give what this gentleman has said a try................JR
 
you could probably get it redone at a powder coater.theres on close to here who will powder coat most anything for a resonable fee.just look online for one near you.its not a difficult process if your set up for it.and no bigger than the pot is it should be cheap enough.
 

Legion

Staff member
Thanks guys. I think I'll give the scotchbrite, tea leaves method a go and see how it fares. I've nothing to lose, anyway. And I guess the advantage of it not having any glaze left on the inside is that I can put it directly on the heat source if I ever need to.

Oh, I've made a couple of pots of green tea in the big one and it works great.
 
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Legion

Staff member
No idea how to fix it but when you go back to the city, drop by Lupicia in QV Building. The man that works in there might be able to help you. They have a pricey selection of tea in there but, it's *very* nice tea... If you stay in QV, there's an Asian grocery upstairs and they got nice green teas...

Thanks Luc. I'll check it out

SWMBO is right into the fancy teas, so I have a lot to choose from. I usually go for the more simple ones, but variety is nice.

We used to get it from here when I was in Canberra, but it is good to have a local joint to check out now.
 

Legion

Staff member
Update: I did what was recommended and gave the little pot a good scrub with the rough side of a dish sponge, then I filled the pot about a third full with tea leaves and topped it up with boiling water. I let the super tea steep for a couple of hours and when I had tipped it out the tannin had done it's work, noticeably darkening the rusty areas. I might give it another application of super tea before use, just to build up some more coating, but I think the pot might have been salvaged.

Thanks JWhite.

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Legion

Staff member
You're welcome, good to see new life in an old pot.

The funny thing was, I was face palming myself that I didn't think of it myself. Tannic acid is one of the major rust converters used by museums (like the kind of places I've worked in preservation for years...). Thank God I have you guys now. In the old days I would have just walked into a conservators office to ask the question, and received a whithering look, like I didn't pay enough attention in school.

I'm thinking for the next application I might use Coke to steep the tea instead of water. The phosphoric acid should speed up and increase the reaction. See, I've gotten my books out now... :001_tongu
 
You know...........There is always someone here who knows what I need to know. There is so much more to this forum than shaving.........................JR
 
Another reminder: It is best to use one type of tea for a given pot. I have tried "greens" in a pot that was used exclusively for "blacks" and the green was noticeably tampered.
 

Legion

Staff member
So, I found this nice cast iron teapot in a thrift store.

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I initially thought it was probably a Chinese copy of a Japanese teapot, which you see commonly for sale on ebay, etc. But no, looking inside I found...

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The only marking or stamp on the pot itself is this. I'm having a very hard time working out the manufacturer. The style of teapot is called a Tsuki, but a few makers do the style. Does anyone recognise the stamp? The pot seems very well made, better than the Chinese ones I have seen for sale in the chain tea stores here.

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