I've got a really cheap ($30 CDN) Chinese tetsubin that displays fit and finish very close to Japanese varieties. If you've pre-heated the pot, tea will stay hot vastly longer than in anything short of a vaccuum pot. I think the reason that most tetsubin are not to be heated is an enamel coating that lines the pot. I assume that if the enamel gets too hot it begins to spall off or release nasty odours.
Cameron
That's worth an experiment. I tend to steep the bagged variety more than usual, and it produces a lovely rounded result. I'm not conscious of doing that with the loose leaf variety, but I'll have a play.
Stopwatch at the ready!
Cheers
Blippie
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I didn't see the original thread, but it does seem that people do tend to make this mistake. IMHO, a teas price generally doesn't have much to do with how good it is - because how *good* a tea is rather relative. We all have different tastes, one of my favorite Oolongs is far from expensive, (while another of my favorites IS :)
The important thing, when learning just what you like, is to buy small quantities of a wide range of teas to see just what it is that you DO like. I am sure that someone has suggested you check out Special Teas website, they have a wide variety of teas and have sample sizes avaliable
- as well as samplers.
Another good site for a beginner is Adagio Teas - or
There are other good places to check as well, but as I am sure others have or will, I won't list them here :)
Catherine K.
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