TeaForum.org

ok, I suppose I should start by qualifying this or explaining it a bit as my issue and question is rather... Unusual I suspect.

I live on a small homestead farm. (which is a small self sufficiency farm, not a giant market farm.) We live rather frugally and we try very hard to be environmentally friendly. The latter is largely what brought us out here. We are not really meaningfully on the grid... We don't have a modern stove. My stove was built in 1895. It is wood burning. Yes I use it every day to cook and to bake. But, I am having trouble when it comes to tea. I drink copious quantities of herbal tea. (I am literally trained as an herbalist so this kind of tea is always being consumed in my home.) I need a tea kettle for my wood burning stove. I would like to get one that is made of copper. But I am not sure where to get one that is compatible with my stove.

My Magee Grand, has "burners" they are flat round pieces of metal. Inside is the wood burning stove. Then there is an oven, a water tank, and an ash box to collect ash from the section of the stove that contains the fire. This fire is contained under the flat round metal burners.

So I suppose I am asking, if anyone knows what copper tea kettle will function best on my ancient wood burning stove? Because I have no idea, and tea is important.

Thank you all for your time and help
Amanda

I don't think the copper is a good solution. We have a copper pots for noodles in Yunnan , but we eat those ( made in copper pot ) sometimes , not every day. I mean consuming / drinking water boiled in cooper every day might not be safe. I'd google more about this matter.
I'd suggest cast iron kettle. It also can be put on open fire. Unfortunately , the good ones are on not cheap side either, so might need to look on second hand stuff.
But it also does require some research - like how to determine which one is good and which one is just nice looking for high price.
Also , if bought from abroad , count with expensive shipping fee, coz they are quite heavy.
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=43&p=50724&hilit=cast+iron#p50724

Yes I hear ya. When I said copper, I meant a thick enough outer layer of copper to not get bent on my stove, and lined with tin, stainless steel, some other safe metal, or something. Copper poisoning is not healthy and it can make one quite ill. I am not really into getting sick... Seriously, if I go down, everyone living here suffers. So I try very hard not to. But yes, I have seen some lovely very expensive but unusable antiques. I can't imagine paying that for something unusable. Do people seriously buy these at the ridiculous prices just to look at them??? I mean if they do they must have more money than Daddy Warbucks..... That said the ones I tend to see that are modern often look cheaply made and like the copper is just a barely there coating... Also the copper rarely looks high end and quality. So I thought I would ask here, if anyone knew of anything nice? Or if I bought an old one, who I would go to, to have it relined inside to prevent copper poisoning. Or perhaps there is an artisan who hand makes them and can help me? or maybe someone knows of such an artisan?

Second that, I'd go for cast iron. Copper is tricky in terms of flavour that it may unwantedly transfer. It absolutely needs to be plated on the inside.
Or why not use enamel pots? I use one at the moment (on induction though) and found it quite practical and neutral for tea.

May also consider clay kettles, e.g.
https://globalteahut.org/products/peter ... ttle-set-1#

Bok wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 18, 2026 4:54 am

Second that, I'd go for cast iron. Copper is tricky in terms of flavour that it may unwantedly transfer. It absolutely needs to be plated on the inside.
Or why not use enamel pots? I use one at the moment (on induction though) and found it quite practical and neutral for tea.

Because a beautiful copper kettle has been my dream for most of my life. My little girl fantasy of what I would have when I grew up and could boil my own tea water.

I can be very particular about certain things.... I suppose it is silly.... But I dunno, I find feeding those dreams really feeds my soul on some level and causes me to spend more time with my tools and in my kitchen making home a very special place for my spouse and for the rest who find their way here, from time to time seeking a place of magical calm in the storm of their lives. Because a tea kettle of copper, is magical to me, I know I can pour magic out of it for the people who find their way to my farm for a time, while they work their internal and external stuff out.

My home and life are a bit unusual. My home has been called a fairy tale house, a visiting photographer once called it "alive." and a magazine once requested to photograph it and write an article about the way life is in a place kind of.... outside of time and space in a sense, it's own little carefully choreographed world. A variation on the Scottish town Brigadoon... Home matters. There is something sacred and magical about home. Especially one very close to nature.... Where you see the occasional moose, and have the odd run in with a black bear, or coyote, and there is a war with the deer over the apples on our trees. Each season, brings a whole new way of life and activity roster. We can see the stars at night and often go watch them on a blanket instead of watching our tv. Often, we head out with a telescope as tall as I am.... On nice days the woods are around us..... I go collect anything I want or need to eat or make into tea. Winter, is all about the snow the greenhouse and time spent by the wood stove.

Something about being in a place like this outside everything, changes you. Part of it is the relationship you develop with nature and natural rhythms. For me, a copper kettle is the definition of what is natural for my little wood fired stove and my little kitchen where people often truly suffering seem to find their way. Every piece in and of a place like this contributes to a sense of calm, peace, and restoration, Each thing here is a symbol of something greater and together, it creates something deeply meaningful for me but also for the ones who wander onto the property in search of something, some kind of meaning in their life, some kind of something within themselves. Creating a true home in a wholesome and natural space, is how I give that to them, to my family, and to myself.

Right now, I think this is all more important than ever. Often I look around and it seems like the whole world stopped taking it's prozac traded it in for LSD and is on a really nasty psychedelic trip... Being here creating a place that feeds something meaningful and healthy... Creating a dream for people many of whom stopped dreaming long ago... It has always been my calling. Even when I was a child, growing up in an international hippy commune, 50 people 5 shared bathrooms 1 kitchen... Sorting my own and other people's trauma is just easier in a space that feels like it is the home I have always dreamed of... The hearth, being the corner stone of home. I always dreamed of a copper kettle.

Well, we just came back from He Qing ( silver pottery ) and you would be surprised what kinda money Chinese are willing to trough for the silver teapot ;D
Anyway, I think clay might be too fragile for you. Just can imagine your working / living environment ...busy life altogether. These kinda clay ( like Chaozhou ) pots are for calm tea session, when sit down , relax and drink tea.
If this drops from the few cm height, it's gone.
I believe you need rather something heavy duty stuff.
I can't vouch for quality as Im not experienced in this sort of thing.
https://www.amazon.com/cast-iron-teapot ... ron+teapot
That's probably the thing you are looking for.
These things usually sell in 3 digit prices so the Amazon is probably not the best place search for quality ( with tea the case ) .
So as I said before, it takes some research to find decent stuff.
You still may by bellow 100$ something good , just not made by some master or some handmade claims ( I think most of them is marketing BS anyway ) .