Matcha Whisk (CHASEN) - A Video Guide to How it's Made

Ever wondered how a Bamboo Matcha Whisk is made? This video guide demonstrates the traditional art handed down for the past hundred years and made with the spirit of crafting without compromising. 

A Matcha Whisk is intricately carved by hand from one piece of aged bamboo.Shaped from a single rod of bamboo into a 80-100 tine whisk that, for all modern advances, we've had no reason to replace?

This Japanese Chasen-craftsman shows exactly what goes into the process.It's mesmerising to watch how the craftsman meticulously shapes the bamboo whisk to form.

First, the bamboo's tender inner flesh is removed to make the hollow tube more brittle. Then, using the natural grains of the wood, the maker splits it with a carbon steel knife into a series of matchstick-like spokes.

From there the bamboo is whittled down even more—the sides scraped down to be as thin as paper, the spokes split into infinitesimally smaller tines—and with delicate flicks of the wrist, those tines are then curled into that iconic trapezoidal shape.

There're different kinds of Chasen for different uses. The more tips (prongs) it has, the better froth you will get. Typically Chasen with more prongs is meant for Usucha - thin tea, and the one with less prongs is meant for Koicha - thick tea.