Chasen Cream No. 2 · Dark Bamboo, 60 Tines · Usucha

Naturally dark bamboo · black thread · around 60 fine tines · tall latticed head · one of a kind

A handsome contrast piece: a deep, near-black bamboo handle rising into a tall bell of around 60 fine outer tines that cross in a delicate lattice, bound in black thread. The height of the head gives it real reach in a deeper bowl, while the fineness keeps the foam silky on thin matcha (usucha).

Hand-cut from a single piece of bamboo in Takayama, Nara — the district that has made Japan's tea whisks for five centuries. We spent three days there going workshop to workshop; four artisans agreed to sell to us, several met through the town's chasen museum where the makers gather. One of a kind — we have only this piece.

Five years from standing bamboo to the first cut, then split by hand tine by tine with a single blade. Why a Takayama chasen costs what it does →

Care: rest on a whisk holder (kusenaoki), rinse in warm water only, air-dry. Never soak or machine-wash.