Chasen — the matcha whisk
Matcha whisk vs frother
The whisk wins on foam and the frother wins on milk — but the whisk is a consumable, and over three years it is the far more expensive of the...
Matcha whisk vs frother
The whisk wins on foam and the frother wins on milk — but the whisk is a consumable, and over three years it is the far more expensive of the...
How to store a matcha whisk without a holder
Stand it head down with the handle up, in open air. The water drains away from the base of the tines, which is where mold starts.
How to store a matcha whisk without a holder
Stand it head down with the handle up, in open air. The water drains away from the base of the tines, which is where mold starts.
How long should you whisk matcha?
Ten to fifteen seconds, not thirty — if the water is hot enough, the matcha is sifted, and the movement comes from the wrist. What to watch instead of the...
How long should you whisk matcha?
Ten to fifteen seconds, not thirty — if the water is hot enough, the matcha is sifted, and the movement comes from the wrist. What to watch instead of the...
Matcha whisk mold: how to tell it from staining
Most of what gets called mold on a chasen is staining, and it lifts under warm water. The ten-second test, where mold actually starts, and where the whisk should dry...
Matcha whisk mold: how to tell it from staining
Most of what gets called mold on a chasen is staining, and it lifts under warm water. The ten-second test, where mold actually starts, and where the whisk should dry...
How to make matcha without a whisk
A jar with a tight lid, shaken for twenty seconds, is the one that works. It gets you smooth matcha and no lasting foam — and foam is most of...
How to make matcha without a whisk
A jar with a tight lid, shaken for twenty seconds, is the one that works. It gets you smooth matcha and no lasting foam — and foam is most of...
What size is a matcha whisk?
Prong count is not size. A standard chasen is about 11 cm long with a 6 cm head, and the number that decides whether it works is the width of...
What size is a matcha whisk?
Prong count is not size. A standard chasen is about 11 cm long with a 6 cm head, and the number that decides whether it works is the width of...
Tomari (とまり) is an old word for a mooring — the place a boat ties up for the night. A bowl of tea is meant to be the same: a few minutes to put the day down. You do not need to know the rules to begin.
Who chose this
I choose everything here by hand, in Japan. I practice tea rather than simply selling the tools for it — I am not a tea master and I do not claim to be. I am a practitioner, which mostly means I have ruined enough bad whisks to know what a good one feels like in the first second of holding it.
Nothing is drop-shipped and nothing passes through a third warehouse. I pack each order in Tokyo and post it from Japan, ceramics double-boxed by hand. If something arrives broken, write within 7 days with photographs of the piece and the box, and I send a replacement or a refund; there is nothing to post back unless I ask. Who writes and chooses all this, and the longer version of why this shop exists.