Alright, let me tell you about this iwachu teapot warmer I picked up.
I was getting really tired of my tea going cold, especially when using my cast iron pot. You know how it is, the first cup is great, the second… lukewarm. Annoying. I’d seen these cast iron warmers around, looked kinda nice, traditional. Decided to get an iwachu one, figured it’d match my pot.
Getting Started
So, it arrived. Pulled it out of the box. Pretty straightforward piece of kit. Heavy, solid cast iron, just like you’d expect from iwachu. No flimsy bits. Just a base to hold a candle and a top part with holes for the heat to go through. Simple. Gave it a quick rinse and dry, just in case.
Then I realized, duh, I needed tealight candles. Didn’t come with any. Had to pop out to the store to grab a pack. Standard tealights, nothing special.
Trying It Out
Back home, I lit a tealight, placed it carefully in the center of the base. Put the top grid part on. Then I brewed a pot of tea in my iwachu teapot, poured the first cup, and set the pot on the warmer. Had to make sure it was sitting stable.
And, well, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Kept the tea nicely warm. Not boiling hot, you know, but comfortably warm for the second, third, even fourth cup. The little candle lasted a good while, couple of hours maybe? Longer than I usually take to drink a pot anyway.
- The heat: It was gentle. Didn’t scorch the tea or anything.
- The look: Honestly, it looks pretty cool sitting on the table, especially with the matching teapot. Very rustic vibe.
- Handling: Gotta be careful, the cast iron warmer itself gets pretty hot after a while. Don’t go grabbing it.
Thoughts and Cleanup
It’s a dead simple device. No wires, no plugs, no complexity. That’s what I like about it. Does one job – keep the pot warm – and does it reliably. Much nicer atmosphere than some electric warming plate, I think. Just the little flame flickering away.
Downsides? Well, you gotta have tealights on hand. And you’re dealing with an open flame, small as it is, so you need to be sensible. Place it somewhere stable, away from flammable stuff, don’t leave it unattended for hours on end, usual common sense.
Cleaning is easy. Once it’s completely cool – and I mean completely – just wipe it down. If any wax drips (which it shouldn’t much with tealights), you can usually scrape it off once it’s hard. Make sure the candle is fully out, obviously.
So yeah, that’s my experience. It’s a solid, simple warmer. Does the trick, looks good if you like that cast iron aesthetic. If you hate cold tea and use a teapot often, especially a cast iron one, it’s worth checking out. Happy I got mine, use it quite a bit now during the colder months.
