Chasen No. 105 · Red-Toned Dark, 56 Tines · Usucha

Reserved — held for exhibition, not currently for sale. Email us and we'll let you know if it's released.

Naturally dark, red-toned bamboo · black thread · fine, curled bell · one of a kind

The warm mahogany-red cast of this bamboo sets it apart. Around 56 fine outer tines flare into a wide bell and curl inward at the tips, bound in black thread — a chasen (matcha whisk) made to whip a silky, even foam 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.