Chasen No. 102 · Dark Kurotake, 48 Tines · Both

Naturally dark kurotake bamboo · black thread · 48 fine tines · usucha & koicha

A single length of naturally dark bamboo, split by hand into 48 fine outer tines around a curled inner core and bound in black thread. The 48-tine head is a true all-rounder: fine enough to raise a smooth foam on thin matcha, sturdy enough to knead a thick koicha.

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.