{"title":"Whisk","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe bowl, the whisk, the scoop, and the tea itself.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"mino-ware-matcha-set-sakura","title":"Mino Ware Matcha Set — Sakura","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTen minutes where your hands have something exact to do.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe temperature of the water. The angle of your wrist. The rhythm of the whisk, and the moment its sound changes because the foam has turned fine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou do not decide to concentrate. You do this, and then you notice that you have been.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA chawan made in Mino, in Gifu, where potters have been firing this clay for a thousand years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe glaze is reactive. It moves in the kiln and settles differently on every bowl, so yours will not match this photograph exactly. That is the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe foot is left unglazed — bare white clay, still holding the marks of the wheel. Not an omission. It is how a chawan shows you it was turned by a person.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat is included\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChawan (matcha bowl) — made in Japan, Mino ware\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChasen (bamboo whisk) — made in Japan\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChashaku (bamboo scoop) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is no sieve in this set. You do not need one — see below.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSize\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.1 in (10.5 cm) wide, 2.6 in (6.7 cm) tall\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12 fl oz \/ 350 ml\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.6 lb (290 g)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow to make it\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe water. A bowl of matcha is almost all water, so the water decides most of the taste. Use soft water. Bottled water in Japan is nearly always soft; bottled water elsewhere varies a great deal, so read the label and choose a low hardness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoil it, whatever it is. With tap water, take the lid off the kettle and hold it at a rolling boil for five minutes. That drives off the chlorine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen let it cool before it meets the tea. 70–80°C (160–175°F) in summer, 75–85°C (165–185°F) in winter. Never straight from the boil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bowl. Warm it with hot water and stand the whisk in it until the tines soften. Pour the water away and dry the bowl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo sieve, no problem. Sifting makes matcha easier to whisk, but it is not required. Put 1.5 g in the bowl — two scoops of the chashaku, or a light teaspoon — add a little of the hot water first, and work it into a smooth paste against the bottom. The lumps go before the rest of the water arrives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe whisking. Add the rest of the water, about 2.4 fl oz (70 ml) in all. Stir slowly at first, to lift the matcha off the bottom. Then raise the whisk just clear of the base and shake it briskly back and forth from the wrist — not in circles. You are not stirring the water round. When the foam rises, bring the tip of the whisk up to the surface and move it slowly, to break the bubbles finer. Finish by lifting the whisk quietly from the centre, so the foam peaks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn hot weather, whisk it stronger with less water, drop in ice, and stir lightly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCare\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHand wash only. Dry thoroughly. The unglazed foot darkens slowly with use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse a coaster on delicate surfaces.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TAKEMI","offers":[{"title":"Sakura (Pink) \/ 12 Oz (350 Ml)","offer_id":43774052237402,"sku":"313957ee-3769-4274-8348-e931bafc2b28","price":107.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3292\/8090\/files\/20045cb14199a287dec8a2b3ec9ec3cd.jpg?v=1785625001"},{"product_id":"yuki-shino-chawan-snow-glaze","title":"Yuki Shino Chawan — Snow Glaze","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA chawan you can put in the dishwasher.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat matters more than it sounds. A bowl you are careful with gets used on occasions. A bowl you are not careful with gets used on a Tuesday morning, which is when you actually need it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYuki shino — snow shino. The white glaze came out of Mino in the sixteenth century, the first white glaze in Japanese pottery, and it has been made there ever since. It pools thick and thin, opens into pinholes, and burns orange where the iron in the clay comes through. The colour in your hands will not be the colour in this photograph. It is not meant to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePorcelain, fired above 1300°C. Thin for its size, and it rings when you tap the rim.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eMade in\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGifu, Japan. Mino ware — the kilns there make roughly six of every ten pieces of tableware used in Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSize\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.7 in (120 mm) across, 3.0 in (75 mm) tall\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15.2 fl oz (449 ml)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15 oz (430 g)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCare\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDishwasher and microwave safe. Hand washing is gentler and will keep the glaze longer. Put a cloth or a sheet of paper between bowls if you stack them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the bowl on its own. You will also need a whisk and a scoop.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mino Ware","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43774180950106,"sku":"b537deeb-3be8-412c-9083-e70721358592","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3292\/8090\/files\/94057cac72a651263867bd92518861b0.jpg?v=1786015600"},{"product_id":"matcha-set-matsuba","title":"Matcha Set — Matsuba","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSix pieces. Two of them are the ones most sets leave out.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA sifter, so the powder goes into the bowl without lumps. A cloth, so there is something to dry the bowl with. Neither is hard to live without, and both are the difference between doing this properly and improvising every morning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bowl has a spout. That sounds minor until the first time you pour matcha into a glass of milk and none of it runs down the side.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeep matt green outside, black inside. The glaze varies from piece to piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat is included\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChawan with pouring spout — 5.4 in (13.7 cm) across, 2.8 in (7 cm) tall, 14 fl oz\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChasen — bamboo whisk, 4.1 in (10.5 cm)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKusenaoshi — whisk holder, keeps the tines in shape between uses\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChashaku — bamboo scoop, 7.5 in (19 cm)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSifter — 7.2 in (18.2 cm)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTea cloth — 13 in (33 cm)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow to make it\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoil the water, then let it stand. Matcha wants 70–80°C (160–175°F) in summer, 75–85°C (165–185°F) in winter. Never straight off the boil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWarm the bowl and stand the whisk in the hot water until the tines soften. Pour it away and dry the bowl with the cloth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSift 1.5 g of matcha into the bowl — two scoops of the chashaku.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdd about 2.4 fl oz (70 ml) of the water. Stir slowly to lift the powder off the bottom, then raise the whisk clear of the base and shake it briskly back and forth from the wrist — not in circles. When the foam rises, bring the tip up to the surface and move it slowly to break the bubbles finer. Lift the whisk quietly from the centre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eLooking after the whisk\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStand it on the kusenaoshi to dry. It keeps its shape that way and lasts several times longer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCare\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHand wash the bowl. Rinse the whisk in warm water only — never soap — and let it dry on the holder.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BISUMI","offers":[{"title":"Matsuba (Pine Green)","offer_id":43774227873882,"sku":"633fd280-1e46-416d-af6f-47b8abae7434","price":89.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3292\/8090\/files\/51cTW805tgL._AC_SL1000.jpg?v=1785640172"},{"product_id":"uji-matcha-saga-no-mukashi","title":"Uji Matcha — Saga no Mukashi","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGround between two stones, slowly, so it never gets warm.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA granite mill turns about thirty times a minute and produces roughly forty grams of matcha in an hour. Push it faster and the friction warms the powder, and the aroma leaves before it ever reaches you. There is no way to hurry this, which is most of why good matcha costs what it does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSaga no Mukashi comes from Tagashira Chaho, a family tea house in Uji, in the hills south of Kyoto, working there since 1930. First harvest, picked by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is graded for koicha — thick tea, where the powder is kneaded with a little water instead of whisked into foam. That is more than an everyday bowl needs, and you will taste where it goes: less astringency, more sweetness, a finish that stays after you put the bowl down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat it is\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e30 g (1.06 oz). Roughly twenty bowls of usucha, or ten of koicha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e100% product of Japan. Uji matcha, first harvest, stone-milled. Nothing added.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow much to use\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor usucha — thin tea, the everyday bowl — 1.5 g to about 70 ml of water at 70–80°C in summer, 75–85°C in winter. Two scoops of a chashaku, or a light teaspoon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor koicha, use roughly twice the powder and half the water, and knead rather than whisk. It will look like paint and taste like nothing else.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow to keep it\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSealed, cold and dark. Matcha turns fast once it is opened — the colour dulls and the sweetness is the first thing to go.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA week or two on a shelf is fine. Longer than that, put it in the fridge, and let the tin come back to room temperature before you open it so no moisture gets in.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tagashira Chaho","offers":[{"title":"Saga No Mukashi","offer_id":43776932741210,"sku":"7805e260-036a-438e-bb7a-01e7c247e1c4","price":69.42,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3292\/8090\/files\/f6b8ae7b150a37523d67de886b6691e9.jpg?v=1786059731"},{"product_id":"oribe-chawan-plum","title":"Oribe Chawan — Plum","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe flower on this bowl is the one on our seal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot cherry — plum. Ume opens in late winter, while there is still snow on the branch. It is the flower of the thing that comes before, which is why it is on our mark, and why it is on this bowl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMade and painted by hand in Japan. The glaze is oribe, the deep copper green named for Furuta Oribe, a tea master of the sixteenth century who liked his bowls a little out of true. It pools down one side and stops where the potter stopped it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery one is different. The one that arrives will not be the one photographed here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow to use it\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis bowl holds 236 ml and sits in one hand. That is one bowl of usucha — not a mug of it, which is the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can whisk in it, though there is not much room for the chasen. The other way is the one spouted bowls are made for: whisk in a larger chawan with a lip, and pour into this one to drink. The bowl you whisk in and the bowl you drink from do not have to be the same bowl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat it is\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9.5 cm (3.75 in) across, 6 cm (2.5 in) tall. Holds 236 ml (8 fl oz).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEarthenware, made in Japan. Handmade and hand-painted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCare\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe maker says it is dishwasher safe. Hand washing will keep the painting longer, and we would.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot for the microwave.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BISUMI","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43777265172570,"sku":"2990909d-c889-4003-b027-5850b19c896b","price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3292\/8090\/files\/Ceramic_tea_bowl_on_surface_202608072237.jpg?v=1786109894"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3292\/8090\/collections\/f444e1e50c8691698b7e169837b01970.jpg?v=1785799520","url":"https:\/\/bi-sumi.com\/collections\/whisk.oembed","provider":"BISUMI","version":"1.0","type":"link"}