{"title":"Tools","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe four things a bowl of thin tea asks for, and the three that make them last: whisk, bowl, scoop, sifter, caddy and whisk shaper.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"takayama-bamboo-whisk-chasen-100-prong","title":"Takayama Bamboo Whisk (Chasen), 100-prong","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe whisk is the one tool that decides whether matcha works at all — and it is where almost everyone goes wrong. A cheap whisk, with too few tines and badly cured bamboo, cannot beat enough air into the tea. It gives you a thin, flat, foamless bowl, and it snaps within weeks. People blame themselves. It was never them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a \u003cem\u003echasen\u003c\/em\u003e made in Takayama, Nara, the town that has made Japan's tea whisks for about five hundred years. One hundred fine bamboo tines with a spring that holds — which is what lets it whip a dense, creamy microfoam in about fifteen seconds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCare:\u003c\/strong\u003e rest it on a whisk stand to keep its shape, rinse in warm water only (never soap), never press it hard into the bottom of the bowl, and let it dry fully so it doesn't mold. Treated well it lasts a few months. It is a consumable, like a good brush — and it is the small thing that saves the whole set.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat arrives.\u003c\/strong\u003e One 100-prong \u003cem\u003echasen\u003c\/em\u003e, made in Takayama, Nara.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy Takayama.\u003c\/strong\u003e Roughly nine in ten genuine Japanese whisks come from this one district in Nara, where whisks have been made for about five hundred years. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/matcha-whisk\/takayama-chasen-guide\"\u003eWhat a Takayama chasen actually is\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA hundred tines rather than eighty.\u003c\/strong\u003e More tines mean finer, denser foam and a gentler action on the bowl; eighty is faster to clean and slightly sturdier. For thin tea at home, a hundred is the easier one to succeed with. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/matcha-whisk\/80-vs-100-prong-chasen\"\u003eThe comparison in full\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBefore the first bowl.\u003c\/strong\u003e A new whisk arrives with its tines dried straight and closed. Stand it in warm water for about 1 minute so they soften and open, or some will snap the first time you use it. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/matcha-whisk\/how-to-use-a-matcha-whisk-for-the-first-time\"\u003eUsing a new whisk\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhen to replace it.\u003c\/strong\u003e When enough tines have broken that the foam comes out coarse — usually fifteen or twenty, and you will notice the bowl before you notice the whisk. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/matcha-whisk\/how-often-replace-chasen\"\u003eHow long one lasts, and what shortens it\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat it will not survive.\u003c\/strong\u003e Detergent, a dishwasher, a microwave, or being left wet in the bowl overnight. Water alone, shaken off, dried with the tines open. That is the entire method. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/matcha-whisk\/how-to-clean-a-matcha-whisk\"\u003eCleaning and drying\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShips from Japan. Shipping is calculated by weight at checkout. For the United States, import duties are paid by us before the parcel leaves Tokyo — there is nothing to pay on delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tomari","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48750321107134,"sku":"TOM-CHASEN-100","price":89.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/2871\/4942\/files\/ad720e4e4357585efb822146cefdcffb.jpg?v=1787048441"},{"product_id":"mino-yaki-tea-bowl-chawan","title":"Mino-yaki Tea Bowl (Chawan) — Black, with Pour Spout","description":"\u003cp\u003eA bowl is where people overthink and overspend. You need less than you imagine: enough width for the whisk to move, enough depth that the tea doesn't slop, and a weight that settles the hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis one is Mino-yaki — from Mino, Japan's oldest and largest pottery region — in a matte, iron-black glaze that reads quiet next to the green of the tea. The walls are nearly straight and carry the horizontal rings of the wheel; the foot is left unglazed, a band of pale cream clay under the black. One side of the rim is drawn out into a soft, low lip (\u003cem\u003ekatakuchi\u003c\/em\u003e) — a sensible modern touch if you make lattes or pour over ice, and no hindrance at all for a plain bowl of thin tea. About 12.5 × 10.5 cm across and 7.5 cm tall, about 375 g: wide and low, with room for the whisk to move.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy this one rather than something older or dearer. A bowl that is very beautiful and very expensive is a pleasure to own and a burden to use — you handle it carefully, you save it for occasions, and occasions are rare. A bowl you are not frightened of gets used on a Tuesday morning, and the using is the whole point.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe black glaze is a practical choice as much as a quiet one. Green reads clearly against it, so you can see whether the tea has come together or whether powder is still sitting in the bottom. That is most of what you need to see while you are still learning the wrist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCare:\u003c\/strong\u003e hand wash only, and avoid sudden temperature shocks. Not for the microwave, the dishwasher or the oven.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn variation:\u003c\/strong\u003e these are thrown and glazed by hand, so color, the run of the glaze and the exact size differ a little from one bowl to the next, and small iron spots or pinholes in the surface are part of the making rather than faults. Yours will not be identical to the one photographed. Ceramics are the one fragile thing I ship, so each bowl is double-boxed and cushioned by hand — if anything arrives damaged, write within 7 days with photographs and I send a replacement or a refund; there is nothing to post back unless I ask. Ships from Japan. Shipping is calculated by weight at checkout. For the United States, import duties are paid by us before the parcel leaves Tokyo — there is nothing to pay on delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tomari","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48750321139902,"sku":"TOM-CHAWAN-MINO-BK","price":57.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/2871\/4942\/files\/chawan_1_hero.jpg?v=1788397072"},{"product_id":"bamboo-tea-scoop-chashaku","title":"Bamboo Tea Scoop (Chashaku)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA \u003cem\u003echashaku\u003c\/em\u003e is the simplest tool in the set and the least fussed over — rightly so. It is a single piece of white bamboo, curved at one end, that holds roughly one measure of matcha. Two scoops is a bowl.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is bamboo and nothing else — no varnish, no join, no metal. The curve is bent with heat rather than carved, which is why the grain runs unbroken from handle to tip. That is the whole of the craft, and it is why a good one costs a little more than a spoon and then lasts indefinitely.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe practical case for it is measurement rather than ceremony. Two scoops is a bowl, every time, so you stop guessing and your tea stops varying from one morning to the next. A teaspoon holds roughly twice what a chashaku does, and the gap between two grams and four in a single bowl is the gap between thin tea and something bitter enough to put you off it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou do not strictly need one; a small spoon works. But there is a quiet pleasure in the right tool for the smallest job, and it costs very little. Wipe it clean and dry — no water needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat arrives.\u003c\/strong\u003e One white-bamboo \u003cem\u003echashaku\u003c\/em\u003e, about 19 cm long and a centimeter wide, with the node left visible in the shaft. No varnish, no join, no metal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow much it holds.\u003c\/strong\u003e One scoop is roughly a gram; two scoops is a bowl of thin tea at about two grams. The end is deliberately shallow — it is not a spoon and does not hold a heaped measure, which is exactly what makes it repeatable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow to hold it.\u003c\/strong\u003e Near the end of the handle rather than the middle, and draw the tea toward you rather than digging. A scoop taken from the surface is consistent; one dug out of the tin is compacted and can be half again as much.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCare.\u003c\/strong\u003e Wipe it with a dry cloth. Do not wash it, do not soak it, and do not put it anywhere warm to dry. Bamboo that has been wetted and then dried quickly is bamboo that splits at the node, and the node is the one part that cannot be repaired.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf you are wondering whether you need one.\u003c\/strong\u003e You do not. A small spoon measures tea. What the chashaku gives you is the same amount every morning without thinking about it, and an object that will outlast every other tool on this list. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/how-to-make-matcha\"\u003eThe quantities, in full\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShipping is calculated by weight at checkout. For the United States, import duties are paid by us before the parcel leaves Tokyo — there is nothing to pay on delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tomari","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48750321172670,"sku":"TOM-CHASHAKU","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/2871\/4942\/files\/chashaku_1_hero.jpg?v=1788355699"},{"product_id":"matcha-sifter-furui","title":"Matcha Sifter (Furui)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA simple matcha sifter in a black tin. Sifting — pressing the powder through a fine mesh — is the difference between a smooth bowl and one full of tiny lumps that never dissolve. Matcha clumps in the tin, and those clumps never whisk out; a quick sift breaks it back to a clean powder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt matters more for matcha than for anything else you might sift. Matcha is ground far finer than flour and packs down in the tin under its own weight, so what you tip out is not loose powder but small dense flakes. A whisk cannot break those — it only moves them around, and water finds the outside of a clump and leaves the middle dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you are deciding what to add to a set you already own, add this before a better bowl or a prettier caddy. It costs less than either, and it changes what is actually in front of you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is the least glamorous tool here and quietly one of the most useful. Sift a scoop or two straight into a warm, dry bowl just before you whisk. Do not wash it; wipe it with a dry cloth. Buy this before anything fancy — it changes more than it looks like it should.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat arrives.\u003c\/strong\u003e A canister sifter 82 mm across and 95 mm tall: a glossy black tinplate tin with a fine mesh inside, and a small spatula for pressing the powder through. The seller describes the tin as made in Japan; I am still confirming where the mesh is made. The tin doubles as a caddy, so you can sift into it and keep the day's tea there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow to use it.\u003c\/strong\u003e Put a scoop or two on the mesh and work it through gently with the spatula — not with force. Matcha goes through a good mesh almost on its own; if you are pressing hard, the mesh is too fine or the powder has taken on damp. Sift into a warm, \u003cem\u003edry\u003c\/em\u003e bowl, immediately before whisking. Sifted matcha starts drawing moisture from the air again within the hour, so there is nothing to gain by doing it in advance. Let the tin and the matcha sit at room temperature for half an hour first if they have come out of the refrigerator; the seller notes that it stops the powder clinging to the sides.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy a sifter rather than a tea strainer.\u003c\/strong\u003e A kitchen strainer has a coarser weave and a curved bowl, so the powder skates around the sides instead of passing through. A sifter made for matcha passes the powder with almost no pressure. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/sifting-matcha\"\u003eWhat sifting actually changes in the bowl\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCare.\u003c\/strong\u003e Do not wash it. Wipe it with a dry cloth after use; the canister rusts if it gets wet. Dry matcha brushes off with a soft brush, and that is usually all it needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShips from Japan. Shipping is calculated by weight at checkout. For the United States, import duties are paid by us before the parcel leaves Tokyo — there is nothing to pay on delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tomari","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48750321205438,"sku":"TOM-FURUI","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/2871\/4942\/files\/sifter-black-1-closed.jpg?v=1791175075"},{"product_id":"tea-caddy-natsume","title":"Tea Caddy (Natsume)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA \u003cem\u003enatsume\u003c\/em\u003e is the small lidded caddy that holds the matcha for a sitting. Its name comes from the jujube fruit its shape recalls. And here is the part most people miss: \u003cstrong\u003eit is a serving vessel, not storage.\u003c\/strong\u003e In the old way you fill it only with what you will use that day, often sifting into it just before; the rest of your matcha stays sealed and cold, because matcha fades fast once it meets air.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy a caddy at all, when the tin works. Two reasons, and only one of them is aesthetic. The practical one is that a tin is an awkward thing to scoop from — deep, narrow, and no shape for a chashaku — so you end up tipping powder out and guessing. A natsume is shallow and open, and the scoop meets the tea at the right angle. The other reason is that setting out what you need before you begin, rather than reaching into a cupboard halfway through, is most of what makes ten minutes feel deliberate rather than rushed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTraditional natsume are lacquered wood — beautiful, but delicate and easily chipped in the post. This one is a maki-e style caddy in phenol resin: the look of lacquerware, but light and unbreakable, so it survives daily use and the journey from Japan. Not plastic-cheap — a quiet, warm object that earns its place on the tray.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat arrives.\u003c\/strong\u003e One caddy, about 6.8 cm across, in the \u003cem\u003eKōdaiji maki-e\u003c\/em\u003e style: paulownia and chrysanthemum crests in gold and red on black. It comes empty, as it should: what goes in is your tea, sifted, on the morning you mean to drink it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is for thin tea.\u003c\/strong\u003e A natsume holds \u003cem\u003eusucha\u003c\/em\u003e. Thick tea is served from a \u003cem\u003echaire\u003c\/em\u003e, a smaller ceramic jar in a silk pouch, and the two are not interchangeable in practice even though both hold powder. If you only ever make thin tea at home — which is what almost everyone does — the natsume is the only caddy you need. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/what-is-a-natsume\"\u003eMore on what a natsume is and how it is used\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow to fill it.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sift the matcha in rather than spooning it from the tin, and settle it into a low mound rather than levelling it flat. The mound is not decoration: it is what lets the scoop take a consistent amount without pressing, and it is how the caddy is set out in practice. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/sifting-matcha\"\u003eWhy sifting first changes the taste\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCare.\u003c\/strong\u003e Do not wash it. Wipe the inside with a dry, soft cloth and let any trace of powder go; water in a caddy is how the next filling clumps. Keep it out of direct sun and away from heat. Lacquer and lacquer-look finishes both dislike the same things.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd the honest limit.\u003c\/strong\u003e Filled with the day's tea, a natsume is not airtight and is not meant to be. Whatever is left at the end of the day goes back to the sealed tin in the cold, or it will be flat by the week's end. \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/how-to-store-matcha\"\u003eHow to store matcha properly\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMaki-e patterns can change with what our maker has in stock. If yours will differ from the photographs, we will tell you before it ships.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShips from Japan. Shipping is calculated by weight at checkout. For the United States, import duties are paid by us before the parcel leaves Tokyo — there is nothing to pay on delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tomari","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48750321467582,"sku":"TOM-NATSUME","price":44.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/2871\/4942\/files\/natsume-kodaiji-1-main.jpg?v=1791175087"},{"product_id":"kusenaoshi-whisk-shaper","title":"Kusenaoshi (Whisk Shaper)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA small glazed ceramic form, shaped like an egg with its top left open, that a bamboo whisk sits over, head down, after every use, so that it dries holding its shape. The name is two words. \u003cem\u003eKuse\u003c\/em\u003e is the bend a thing has picked up — you use the same word for a cowlick in hair. \u003cem\u003eNaoshi\u003c\/em\u003e is putting it right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is where the whisk goes after you rinse it.\u003c\/strong\u003e Set it over the kusenaoshi head down and leave it there to dry. The body holds the tines in their curl, and air moves up through the open tines as the water drains away. It is how I dry mine, and it is what Ippodo in Kyoto tells its own customers to do with its whisk stand. If the outer tines have already splayed, the same form presses them back. I have \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/matcha-whisk\/do-you-need-a-matcha-whisk-holder\"\u003ewritten about what the sources say\u003c\/a\u003e, including the shops that disagree.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe best known one in English is a wooden version at $42, sold beside a $44 whisk. That ratio never made sense to me: a stand you use every day should not cost what the whisk itself costs. Ceramic ones sit lower, from about $16. This is the plain ceramic version — glossy dark brown-black, 6 cm across — priced as a small correction rather than a second purchase you have to weigh up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is made in China, and I would rather say so.\u003c\/strong\u003e Almost every kusenaoshi sold in English is, including several described as Japanese. Everything else in this shop that is made in Japan says so on its own page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it is glazed and fired, no two are identical. The glaze runs from near-black to a deep brown depending on how thickly it pooled, and small dark specks or pinholes appear in it. Those are firing characteristics rather than faults, and I will not pretend otherwise by photographing only the best one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUse it every time. Rinse the whisk in warm water, shake it out, and set it head down over the kusenaoshi to dry in open air, out of direct sun. If the tines have splayed, press the head down a little more firmly so the outer tines spread around the body. Ships from Japan. Shipping is calculated by weight at checkout. For the United States, import duties are paid by us before the parcel leaves Tokyo — there is nothing to pay on delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Tomari","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48828553920702,"sku":"TOM-KUSENAOSHI","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/2871\/4942\/files\/kusenaoshi-whisk-shaper-1.jpg?v=1790486946"}],"url":"https:\/\/shoptomari.com\/collections\/tools.oembed","provider":"Tomari","version":"1.0","type":"link"}