Tea utensils: what is included in the matcha preparation set

Match kit: accessories and supplies

Matcha wouldn't be as good if it wasn't in powder form. Thanks to it, the whole tea leaf enters the body (in itself extremely therapeutic), and not just its traces in the water. This requires a special way of brewing with the use of special accessories and utensils. Let's figure out what items are included in the matcha preparation kit and what is the function of each of them.

How to properly prepare matcha

A real matcha is impossible without chavan, chasen, chashak and several other instruments. Here's how to prepare matcha correctly:

Heat the water (filtered, not from the tap) to 70-80 degrees. Do not use boiling water - it will burn the delicate powder and make its taste bitter.
They take a special bowl for the match - chavan. They wash it with hot water, and then dry it well with a towel.
It is important to take the exact amount of powder to get the matcha of the right strength and consistency. A bamboo spoon is designed for this purpose. You need 2–4 g of matcha per serving (one or two spoons).
The powder is sifted into a chavan through a strainer to break up the tea lumps and get a more uniform texture.
20 ml of hot water is added to the powder and mixed with each other using a whisk (beater) until a homogeneous mass is formed.
Add another 60-80 ml of hot water slowly and whisk the matcha with a whisk in quick M- or W-shaped movements until a light foam forms on the surface of the tea.

Prepared matcha can be poured into a cup or drunk directly from the cup.

Accessories for the match

If you put together all the tools needed to prepare a match, you will get the following list:

Chavan is a traditional match bowl.
Chasen is a bamboo beater.
Naoshi is a stand for a whisk.
Chishaku is a measuring spoon made of bamboo.
A sieve is a tool for sifting matcha powder.

It also doesn't hurt to have a kensui, a vessel for waste water or tea residue, and a chakin, a white cotton cloth for wiping the chawan before and after making matcha.

What is chavan?

Chawan is a traditional Japanese bowl for preparing and drinking matcha tea. Usually ceramic, but you can also find wooden, porcelain and even glass versions.

The matcha bowl has a special shape - a narrow bottom and wide round walls, which gives enough space to beat the powdered tea with a whisk, avoiding splashing. It also ensures the correct distribution of heat and easy pouring into other dishes, especially if it is a katakuchi - a teapot with a spout.

Available in different colors, can be decorated with a pattern. Fits comfortably in the hand.

You can also familiarize yourself with what to consider when choosing a chavan and how to properly care for it .

Why do you need chasen?

Chasen is a whisk, usually made of bamboo, for stirring matcha with hot water. Helps dissolve the powder and create a smooth, creamy drink. There are also its plastic or metal options, easier to care for and more durable to use.

A match whisk has teeth (or strings, petals) that vary in number: from 16 to more than 120. The more of them, the more delicate the foam. This allows you to create different types of drinks. The whisk can be long or short - it is selected according to the volume of the bowl.

A bamboo whisk can quickly deform, darken and become covered with mold. To prevent this from happening, a special stand is used - naoshi, the main task of which is to dry chasen in a vertical position.

More about the proper care of bamboo chasene was told in this article .

How does the cup help

The bamboo cup easily takes out the powder from the special storage capacity, and every time in the same amount - 1 gram. Such accuracy is ensured by its length - 18 cm, the bend at the base at an angle of 48 degrees and the lacquered surface. All other devices, including an ordinary teaspoon, do not guarantee that the powder will not fall apart on the way to the strainer, and that an excessive amount will not get into the bowl.

Match kits from Matcher.store

You can collect all the necessary tools one by one for a long time. And you can buy a matcha preparation kit to immediately start enjoying this wonderful drink. Matcher.store offers the following convenient and aesthetically appealing options: