On 17 Mar 2015 I wrote:

> Referencing the famous article "A nice cup of tea" by George Orwell[1].
>
> What do you think he meant when writing that the teapot is best warmed
> by placing it on the hob?
>
> Wouldn't it damage the teapot?
>
>
> Note:
> [1] http://www.george-orwell.org/A_Nice_Cup_of_Tea/0.html

Following up on an old thread I started, just to report that I
eventually found a way to pre-warm my teapots on the hob (aka gas
stovetop).

I can finally follow Orwell's advice, thanks to a contraption called
a "heat tamer". Many models are available: mine is a solid cast iron
disc. I interpose this item between the teapot and my smallest flame
at its lowest setting.

Now, the process isn't quick. It might take up to 10 minutes.
But it allows for two things that are important to me:

1) I can finally steep in a finely pre-determined amount of water, since
I don't have to pour out "some" from the kettle, for teapot warming;

2) I can warm a teapot that contains spent leaves, to which I'll add
fresh leaves to make a new cup.

I've been subjecting my teapots to this treatment for more than a month,
with no ill effects; so I just thought I'd pass this trick on to the
group.

Cheers,
DN

--
Dario Niedermann. Also on the Internet at:

gopher://retro-net.org/1/dnied/ , http://devio.us/~ndr/