My mother found her old cast iron teapot and gave it to me, because I had none. It looks almost exactly like this one, for the very good reason that it’s the exact same model, only much older (on mine, the company name is done in basically-unreadable seal script, it came with an aluminum infuser insert, and it lacks the fancy bottom design for better compatibility with induction).

By the way, Today I Learned the difference between a tea kettle and a tea pot, and mine is indeed a kettle, intended for boiling water on a range, even though you can put tea in the infuser. Japanese tea pots have an enameled interior that can’t take direct heat, while the kettles are just seasoned iron. Both have replaceable stainless-steel mesh infusers available in a full range of sizes.

FYI, this is not seasoned the way a cast iron skillet is, because the oil would taste nasty. You maintain and touch-up the interior and exterior finish with… tea. Strong tea.

“Let’s just say we’d like to avoid any Imperial entanglements”

Dear Amazon Japan, when you use auto-translated listings to sell something, you really need to get the unit conversions right. Especially when you also list it on Amazon US with a completely different mistake.

Amazon US: Iwachu 12302 Teapot, Type 5 Arare, Black, 1.2 gal (0.65 L), Inner and Lid Back, Enameled Processing, Nambu Ironware

Amazon Japan: 岩鋳 Iwachu 急須 5型アラレ 黒 0.65L 内面・蓋裏ホーロー加工 南部鉄器 12302

Amazon Japan, auto-translation: Iwachu Iwachu 12302 Type 5 Arare Teapot, Black, 2.2 fl oz (0.65 L), Enameled Interior and Lid Lining, Nambu Ironware

Apparently in Japan, 0.65 liters is 2.2 fluid ounces, while in the US, it’s 1.2 gallons. So it’s not that the Imperial system is difficult, it’s that people raised on Metric are stupid. 😁

(there’s tea somewhere in this picture, honest!)

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