Then there are those who would not dream of doing without a silver or pewter teapot, with its gently curving bellies rising up to meet a decorative lid with an ebony or ivory knob.
However, it is not necesssary in this day and age to drink tea that is made only from an old family heirloom. Simple steel tea pots will suffice in brewing the fragrant and rich beverage for any connoiseur to enjoy. They have the advantage of being able to withstand heat to such an extent that you can actually brew your tea on the kitchen hob itself.
To protect the hand while brewing and pouring, steel tea pots usually have an insulated handle made of a poor heat conductor such as plastic or enamel.
To facilitate pouring, you should look for steel tea pots with dipped lips that are fashioned from the same piece of steel. Welded pieces will trap tannin and stray leaves at the joined points.
Tannins from tea have a tendency to accummulate in the pot and this will make the tea bitter. Because of this, steel tea pots must be washed carefully after each use. |
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To get rid of any dark stains inside your steel tea pots, place a few slices of lemon in boiling water, then pour the water into the pots, and the tannin residue will dissolve.
This trick works with steel tea pots that have been used
for herbal teas as well, especially those that have been
used for particularly strong ones such as licorice or mint.
With many beautiful hammered, lacquered and polished designs churned out by market-savvy manufacturers, it looks like steel tea pots are here to stay. Who knows? The one that you decide to buy may one day be passed down from generation to generation.
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