Soon I plan to begin my jouyney into the Green Goddess of Matcha. Would any of the chasens offered at the website Matcha and More suit me as depicted here:
http://www.matchaandmore.com/utensils/chasen.htm
Also are hishakus recommended as depicted here:
http://www.matchaandmore.com/utensils/hishaku.htm
Late, late at night somewhere way far out into the desert solitude, I like contemplating a bloody red crescent moon quietly rising over the distant horizon. Even when punctuated by a distant howl of the lone coyote, the desert serenity is most peaceful. A wisp of the warm desert air wandering over the otherwise quiet landscape gently caresses my shoulders. She beckons.
I use a hishaku with a tetsubin so it can be done though really, I should have a kama for that. The shipping for a kama is a killer though so I haven't bothered. The advice about bamboo cracking is right -- in winter with the furnace running near constantly in Canada my bamboo hishaku have cracked, though not always completely through if the hishaku is thickly made.
The chasen look fine though I haven't used the ones from this store. White vs. soot darked is for the two schools: Urasenke is white, Omotesenke is black IIRC. I prefer the white ones.
The chasen look fine though I haven't used the ones from this store. White vs. soot darked is for the two schools: Urasenke is white, Omotesenke is black IIRC. I prefer the white ones.
Apr 13th, '09, 20:15
Posts: 1953
Joined: Apr 6th, '08, 19:02
Location: British Columbia, Canada
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chamekke
Urasenke does use a smoked bamboo chasen for Kininkiyotsugu and one or two of the lesser known temae. Otherwise, as you say, mostly the white bamboo... which has the benefit of being easier to find and generally lower in price.hpulley wrote:White vs. soot darked is for the two schools: Urasenke is white, Omotesenke is black IIRC. I prefer the white ones.
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
Apr 15th, '09, 03:27
Posts: 1953
Joined: Apr 6th, '08, 19:02
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Contact:
chamekke
This will shock some folks here, but I am actually fine with buying relatively inexpensive, non-artisan chasen for day-to-day use.
I haven't received any instruction from my tea sensei on what to look for in the more expensive Japanese-made varieties, so until I know why I should buy a particular type (and why it's worth spending considerably more money on it), I am content with the ordinary ones.
For sure you may hear that it's better to buy a chasen with fewer tines to use with koicha (thick tea), and more tines for usucha (thin tea), but the standard types you'll see tend to fall in a range of between 80-120 tines. Any of these will enable you to prepare either type of tea. It isn't just the chasen that determines whether usucha or koicha is well mixed; it's also (and I would argue, mainly) a matter of how you wield it.*
Having said all that... if you are very keen on buying real, traditional, Japanese hand-made chasen, I would suggest Tea-Passage. I've purchased from them before, and they're quite reputable. They would also be able to give you some practical advice on why you might favour one chasen over another.
(But note that on their chasen page, the word "whisks" should be replaced by "tines". If you pay $45.50 for order NCA-3, you won't get 100 whisks - you'll get one whisk with 100 tines!)
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*Most western drinkers of usucha seem to have unconsciously adopted the practice of the Urasenke school, which favours whisking the matcha so that the liquid is covered with a smooth layer of froth. The Omotesenke school, in contrast, practices a method that results in a much thinner layer of froth that covers only a portion of the tea - and that in a distinctive crescent-moon shape. This distinction is based in part on the whisking method, but also on the particular matcha used by each school; I'm told that Omotesenke matcha-s are milled more coarsely than the Urasenke-favoured matcha-s so that they do not foam as vigorously.
I haven't received any instruction from my tea sensei on what to look for in the more expensive Japanese-made varieties, so until I know why I should buy a particular type (and why it's worth spending considerably more money on it), I am content with the ordinary ones.
For sure you may hear that it's better to buy a chasen with fewer tines to use with koicha (thick tea), and more tines for usucha (thin tea), but the standard types you'll see tend to fall in a range of between 80-120 tines. Any of these will enable you to prepare either type of tea. It isn't just the chasen that determines whether usucha or koicha is well mixed; it's also (and I would argue, mainly) a matter of how you wield it.*
Having said all that... if you are very keen on buying real, traditional, Japanese hand-made chasen, I would suggest Tea-Passage. I've purchased from them before, and they're quite reputable. They would also be able to give you some practical advice on why you might favour one chasen over another.
(But note that on their chasen page, the word "whisks" should be replaced by "tines". If you pay $45.50 for order NCA-3, you won't get 100 whisks - you'll get one whisk with 100 tines!)
-----
*Most western drinkers of usucha seem to have unconsciously adopted the practice of the Urasenke school, which favours whisking the matcha so that the liquid is covered with a smooth layer of froth. The Omotesenke school, in contrast, practices a method that results in a much thinner layer of froth that covers only a portion of the tea - and that in a distinctive crescent-moon shape. This distinction is based in part on the whisking method, but also on the particular matcha used by each school; I'm told that Omotesenke matcha-s are milled more coarsely than the Urasenke-favoured matcha-s so that they do not foam as vigorously.
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
Apr 15th, '09, 03:30
Posts: 1953
Joined: Apr 6th, '08, 19:02
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Contact:
chamekke
P.S. Just found this webpage on chasen. No idea how good the vendor is, but the page provides a pretty decent summary:
https://www.jshoppers.com/special/eg/sp ... index.html
https://www.jshoppers.com/special/eg/sp ... index.html
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly