I wrote a couple of days ago about falling in love with my cast iron vintage tetsubin teapot. Today I gave it an extraordinary test, and it passed with such flying colors I now believe the teapot to possess magical abilities.
I commented in my last post that my impression of the tetsubin is it mitigates the astringent notes in tea and allows other flavors to come forward. Today I tested my theory with a truly awful tea: decaf Irish breakfast from Trader Joe's. No disrespect to Trader Joe's, or to decaf tea; they both have their place. But English and Irish teas are often very strongly bitter and astringent, and decaf teas are typically lackluster in flavor. The decaf Irish breakfast is no exception.
Historically, I brewed this tea with water from the stainless electric kettle, one teabag per mug, with a steeping time of 3.5 minutes. This results in a viciously bitter tea with lots of astringence that benefits greatly from milk, which is why I drink it. Sometimes I want milky tea. As I've been becoming a more hardcore tea enthusiast, my brewing habits have changed, and I've been using much shorter brew times. So yesterday I brewed this tea for 90 seconds, and the tetsubin yielded a quite drinkable cup of tea, albeit with muted flavors.
Today I went all out. I heated the water in the tetsubin, and I brewed the decaf Irish Breakfast for 3.5 minutes. To my utter astonishment, I am enjoying a respectable mug of decaf black tea. No, it ain't fancy, yes, it's still decaf, and some people will still be horrified. But if you are sensitive to caffeine and still want a cup of sturdy black, Trader Joe's plus the tetsubin can deliver. Much less bitter, much less astringent, with nice earthy and savory flavors shining through.
This is a magic teapot that deserves a place on your stove. It makes everything taste better. And if it can make Trader Joe's decaf Irish breakfast taste good, who knows the limits of its power? Get one.
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