Is the tea brewed with a porcelain teapot healthier?

I had an inquiry from a reader of this blog. He said that “You wrote on your blog that Tokoname teapots absorb catechin and make tea less bitter. On the other hand cathechin is considered as a substance that affects on health in a very good way. So does it mean that making green tea in a porcelain teapot is potentially more healthy?”. What do you think of that? If you are not familiar with what he is talking about, please refer to the following three entries.

Tokoname teapot can brew more delicious tea than teapots made of other materials

Does green tea prevent cancer?

Green tea for metabolic syndrome?




Konnnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ My answer to his question is “No”. The tea in Tokoname teapots contains more bitterness (catechin) than the ones in porcelain teapots. So, the tea brewed with Tokoname pots could be regarded as healthier. Please let me explain it in the following three topics.

1. Amount of substance extracted

2. What people taste

3. A discrepancy in my article



1. Amount of substance extracted

Tokoname teapots extract more substances in both umami and bitterness than the teapots made of other materials. The chart from the survey shows that the tea brewed by Tokoname teapot has the most bitterness among the four materials.

This chart is from Saron No.37 by Nihoncha instructor association

2. What people taste

Many people thought the tea brewed with Tokoname-pot is richer and mellower. Even though it actually contains the most bitterness, they taste milder in it. I’m not sure about the reason but my assumption is that the flavors along with the other substances surpass the bitterness.



3. A discrepancy in my article

On my previous entry, I introduced an idea as a general understanding that Tokoname teapot absorbs catechin of tea and makes less-bitter tea. But I realized that this idea does not support the result of the scientific analysis by a taste-sensor machine at all. I apologize for the discrepancy of my article. The general understanding for Tokoname teapot absorbing catechin may not be correct or there might be some other explanation regarding this issue. I don’t know and cannot explain the cause why Tokoname teapot extracts more substance and why people find it less bitter.



To conclude, I’m not really sure how effective it is but you could say that the tea brewed with a Tokoname teapot is healthier than the tea brewed with a porcelain teapot on the matter of catechin. Jah!