Great big iron wok

After so many years of searching for big thick iron wok for hand processing green tea, I finally found one in a rustic metal store in rural Japan, but I had no luck transporting it back to Hawaii. It measures about 1m diamter and 40cm deep. or pay big money.

The store owner said that the wok has been sitting there for over 50 years. Nowadays people like to use aluminum or stainless steel kinds since they don't need much maintenance like iron ones, but heat conductivity is totally different. They do not give the type of uniform high heat like iron one does.

I found bunch of small iron ones, smaller than 40cm diameter, that people would just give me, but too small. Maybe hobbyist might just like to make some tea with that although from my experience that small ones don't hold enough leaves and can't heat high enough to stop oxidation.

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