It seems that the world’s gone a little matcha crazy recently, with milky green lattes cropping up all over Instagram, carefully arranged next to a bamboo whisk. You might be wondering why, traditionally, the matcha is whisked at all.
Chasen (茶筅) are key to matcha preparation as they help to prevent the ground tea leaves from clumping and suspend your tea into a frothy texture (as matcha never fully dissolves). Plus, they won’t damage your bowl and look pretty good, too. They’re crafted from a single piece of bamboo and while they might look similar at first glance, depending on the type of bamboo and shape, chasen are unique in their qualities.