Patina

Or, “Why I Spent $700 On A Tea Set”.
I typically don’t find it exceptionally necessary to justify my own personal purchases, but sometimes criticism warrants backlash. Criticism that I would have the audacity to buy a set of that caliber without becoming excited about it. Criticism that I’m “being a dick” for not wanting to go to a tea house to hang out when I have superior, rare tea at home. Then again, the critics are the type of people that think microwaving a tea bag in some water constitutes “good-ass shit”.

I digress. Back to why I made an impulse purchase of tea and tea-related accessories. And “impulse” is really a relative term. I certainly didn’t go into Teavana expecting to make a purchase that day, but a quality tea set is something I’ve had my eye after for some time now. In the end, I decided it was finally time to upgrade to a quality kettle.

It’s been about two weeks now that I’ve had said kettle, and I’m super-excited that my tea is tasting better than ever. You see, with cast iron tea pots, they become seasoned over time. One of the major benefits of this seasoning is the development of a patina. A patina is a mineral layer that forms on the inside (and over time, the outside) of the tea kettle. It’s what makes the tea–normally a pretty delicate flavor–just extraordinary. Some connoisseurs even prefer the taste of tea from a slightly rusted pot (rust is non-toxic), but I’m not so sure I want to try that one just yet.