Silk Road cast iron teapot wins Alessi praise

My hometown is famous for its black and green tea. I’m in my early twenties and I’ve already drank tea for over 20 years. I’ve probably had more tea than milk in my whole life.

My grandfather used to tell me to marry a guy with a good teapot. That explains my excitement when I saw Silk Road cast iron teapot.

What is it

The Silk Road teapot is made of cast iron. Since the pot and its cover are cast in single pieces, the production process eliminates welding and any potential harmful trace elements.

I may drink alcohol, eat junk food, and stay up late every day, but a cast iron pot will ensure I stay healthy. If I get sick, the pot takes all the blame, not my lifestyle.

What problem does it solve

I thought hard about this and the only problem I can possibly think of is ceramic tea pots breaking. You’ve seen how people wield cast iron skillets in post apocalyptic games and movies. There’s a reason you’d find eight-decade-old cast iron cookware at yard sales and antique stores. So you could even swing the cast iron pot around as a weapon when zombies invade your home.

Who is it for

The Silk Road is for tea lovers who know that to make good tea. If you know your tea culture, you understand the teapot is as crucial as the tea leaves and water. Iron from the cast iron will leach into the water, thus improving the water during the tea brewing process. You can put the tea leaves directly in the iron pot or in a separate ceramic tea pot.

Speaking of tea pots, my grandfather used to have a good ceramic teapot that he cherished a lot. Then my dad accidentally broke it. Let me put it this way: I almost became fatherless. 

I was thinking to myself when my dad was being beaten, I told myself I would buy an unbreakable teapot when I grow up?

Is it innovative?

While less common than ceramic teapots, we can buy cast iron teapots online. Most of them are Japanese tea pots. However, it’s hard to find one casted in a single piece. Besides this, they have another thing in common. They have what they call a teapot look. That’s pretty boring for someone like me with decades of tea-drinking experience.

Silk Road cast iron pot dared to innovate the tea pot design. It combines round and angular shapes to infuse the oriental tea culture in the metal teapot that is usually associated with Western tea.

It brews tea and culture!

The round and angular shapes of the teapot also symbolise others and self. The spout of the teapot is on the round side, the side that should face others. The handle is on the angular side, the harsh side that you keep to yourself.

That’s some innovation. Sure, you could say there are other ways to try to reinvent the tea pot. What the Silk Road cast iron pot has done is actually to be innovate at the most fundamental level while retaining the essence of tea drinking.

Is it worth it

Speaking from a tea fanatic’s perspective, yes! Cast iron teapots are not only good for tea brewing but also great additions to your tea pot collection. Real tea lovers are always proud of the teapots they’ve collected. It’s part of the tea culture.

This is akin to Star Wars geeks filling their homes with Star Wars merchandise.

Cast iron cookware are known for their durability. Your descendants can inherit your pot and decades of tannin build-up, assuming you don’t wash your teapot. Yes, you’re not supposed to wash the teapot if you always drink the same type of tea. The flavour build-up makes the drink taste better the more you use the teapot (and not wash it).

This reminds me of the time when my dad washed my grandfather’s tea pot. Let me put it this way: it was much worse than when he broke the tea pot.

What are the alternatives

As mentioned above, there are many cast iron teapots in the market, but I didn’t find any good alternatives for myself at the moment. What I like about the Silk Road teapot is its appearance, single cast design, and more importantly the culture it represents. The idea it conveys can irreplaceable. 

I read my tea leaves and they say that I love Silk Road so much that other pots mean nothing now. 

Hi, I’m Rainee.

I’m a reindeer that identifies as a bear. I’m the Critical Bear that does standup comedy.