Our story
01
In 2017, Aiko (now CasaMonami's tea director) brought a single hand-cast cast iron teapot back from a trip to her grandmother in Iwate. It was the second-best thing on that trip. The best was her grandmother's daily sencha — brewed in that teapot every morning for forty years, the iron had developed a patina that no seasoning guide could replicate.
02
Cast iron holds heat. A 1.2L pot stays above 80°C for 15 minutes after boiling — which is essential for proper sencha or gyokuro brewing. The iron itself softens water and rounds astringency. And a well-cared-for pot outlives its owner. We carry a small, curated line because the best ones are made by people we know.
03
We partner directly with a 14-person foundry in Iwate, run by Mr Sato, whose grandfather started the foundry in 1931. We pay above the going rate. We visit every harvest. We choose motifs that mean something, not just ones that photograph well. Every pot is sand-cast from a single mould, finished by hand, and tested for water-tightness before it ships from our London studio.
What we believe
🌿
Cast iron, bamboo, organic leaf. Nothing synthetic touches what we sell.
✦
Made by people we know. Tested by us. Guaranteed for life.
◐
Designed to earn a place on your table — not a back-of-cupboard life.
∞
Bamboo grows a metre a day. Iron outlives its owner. Tea is compostable.
Browse our hand-cast cast iron teapots — or read the journal for the longer version.
