Rust = death. Here’s to life.

Folks send me some peculiar messages. This one came via red ink scrawled on a paper towel, courtesy of my closest friend and ex.

I walked into my dark kitchen late this evening and was met with a surprise. Lisa had bought me a new teakettle. My old, gorgeous blue whistler has rust in it, apparently. She’s a doll. She’s well aware of how important my kitchen is to me. She also fears stuff, like rust. She doesn’t want me to drink it and die. She loves me.

The very least I could do was take a quick peek to see if she was onto something. Who would know more about this than the Republic of Tea?

In the unlikely event of rust, the pot can still be used. Rust from the teapot is non-toxic and perfectly safe. In fact, many Japanese tea connoisseurs actually prefer the taste of tea from a rusted pot.

Hmm, I’m not Asian; I didn’t even know that rust had a taste. I am a bit of a hot water expert, and I know that rust is simply oxidized iron, or iron which has chemically combined with oxygen. Obviously, teakettles are not the only place we might be consuming the stuff. From Berkeley Wellness:

Iron also occurs naturally in some drinking water sources. If the water is exposed to air before coming out of the tap, it, too, may be rusty or turn rusty after standing.

Though rusty water may look and taste unpleasant—and possibly stain sinks and clothing—it is not a health concern. A possible exception is people with hemochromatosis, a rare disorder that causes excess iron accumulation in body organs.

I wonder if Lisa thought I had hemochromatosis and was worried about one of my organs (no, not that one, perv). I’m guessing that was the reason she drew the heart on the note.

I think I know what’s really going on here. Lisa has a master plan. She’s a reader of the blog and has been seeing pictures like this one. She wants the blue beauty in her kitchen. I bet, when I throw away the old one, it will disappear from my garbage can. Then she’ll be the one enjoying the flavors of rusty tea. She has been to Japan, after all.

Geez, Lisa. All you had to do was ask.

Kap