Chasen No. 104 · Dark Kurotake, 48 Tines · Both

Naturally dark bamboo (kurotake) · black thread · shin form · sturdy, hooked tines · one of a kind

Cut from naturally dark black bamboo (kurotake) in the classic shin form and bound in black thread, with a long thread tassel at the collar. Around 48 sturdy outer tines, each tip hooking firmly inward — a whisk with real backbone, at home kneading a thick koicha yet still able to raise a dense foam on 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.