Selecting Tools for Making Matcha – A Beginner’s Guide to Tea Utensils

If you would like to enjoy matcha at home but do not know where to start, we would like to introduce the necessary tea utensils.

First of all, the minimum requirements for making matcha are a bowl, a chasen (tea whisk), and a chashaku (tea scoop). With these three items, you can prepare basic matcha.

The tea bowl is a vessel for making matcha and drinking it directly from it. At first, we recommend a ceramic tea bowl priced between 2,000 yen and 3,000 yen. Brand new tea bowls are surprisingly difficult to make tea from, so the trick is to choose a tea bowl with a used texture. If you prefer white or light colors, the green color of the matcha will look better.

The Chasen (tea whisk) is the key tool for preparing Matcha. We recommend that you start out with an easy-to-handle 80-pound tea whisk made of white bamboo, which can be purchased for around 2,000 yen. To make your Chasen last longer, it is important to take care of it after use. It is recommended that you consider purchasing a Chasen mending (special stand) later on.

A chashaku is a bamboo ladle for sipping matcha (powdered green tea); a basic one costing about ¥1,000 is sufficient. After use, wipe it dry and store it in a dry place.
However, for those who want to enjoy matcha more seriously and with better taste, the following tools are also recommended.
First, a tea towel. This is a cotton cloth used to cleanse the tea bowl and can be purchased for about 500 yen. It is recommended to wash it frequently to keep it clean.
Also useful are natsume, small wooden containers for storing matcha (powdered green tea). These small wooden containers can be purchased for as little as 2,000 yen. It has a lid and is suitable for storing matcha.
A matcha sifter (sifter) is also useful to make tea more smoothly. 1,500 yen is also very practical.
These tools can be purchased as you go along, depending on your preference and the purpose for which you wish to use them. There is no need to start with expensive tools. We recommend that you start with the basic three utensils and gradually increase the number of utensils you have as you find enjoyment in making tea.
It is best to actually hold the utensils in your hands to see how heavy they are and how comfortable they are to use. Tea ceremony utensil stores can offer advice on how to choose and use the right utensils.
Let’s start with a casual approach. If you have any questions about choosing the right tools, please feel free to contact us.