Enjoying Green Tea with an Iron Kettle

I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to boil water in an iron kettle
and drink tea.
I asked my wife, "Come to think of it,
we have an iron kettle at home, don't we?"

"It's something I got from my parents' house.
But it's rusted, and no matter how much I wash it,
the water comes out a soot-black color.
So I put it away somewhere."

"But they say that water boiled in an iron kettle
is mellow and makes tea taste delicious.
It seems that ferrous iron dissolves into the water,
which is good for your health as you get iron intake."

My wife rummaged around and found the iron kettle.
"It's a very nice Nambu ironware kettle.
But I don't think the rust or soot will come off.
I suppose you won't be satisfied until you try it yourself."

I took this iron kettle to our house in Nasu.
I immediately scrubbed the inside with a scouring brush.
I washed it over and over again to check the color of the water.
The water, which was black at first, became clear and colorless.

I boiled the water slowly over a low flame.
I put Chiran tea called "Asatsuyu"
into a teapot and poured the water from the iron kettle.
These tea leaves are also known as "natural gyokuro."

I used water that had cooled down a little,
and when I drank it, it had a rich, mellow deliciousness.
This is tasty! Even I can tell it's
completely different from water boiled in an electric kettle.
I did it, the iron kettle is revived, long live green tea!