Tag: อุปกรณ์ชงชา

When it comes to making matcha, the equipment that comes to mind is probably Chasen, a bamboo spoon, Cha-chaku, or Chasen stand. The method of using these equipment can be studied from many websites. However, the correct use of equipment also requires proper storage. Let’s see how each type of tea brewing equipment should be stored.

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Start with storing the Chasen or tea brush, the most important tool for making tea. After use, swing it in warm water, focusing on swinging only the part that touches the matcha, do not wash the whole thing. After swinging it for two times, set it aside to dry. If anyone has a Chasen rest, it is recommended to insert it and wait for it to dry. It will be better because this Chasen rest has the advantage of not letting water flow into the handle and it also helps maintain the shape of the Chasen. After the Chasen is dry, store it in a box or in a place with a suitable temperature, not too hot, not too cold, with good air circulation. Most importantly, it must not be too humid or dry. Because if it is too hot or dry, the bamboo will become brittle and break easily. And be careful about humidity or the bamboo will grow mold. As for the ceramic Chasen rest, it helps the Chasen dry quickly and maintains the shape of the bamboo, preventing mold. Just observe carefully if there is a little stain or not. If it is dirty, just wash it and let it dry. Because it is not very dirty. But if it is used for a long time, do not neglect to check if it is still in good condition and suitable for use.

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As for the Cha-cha-ku or bamboo spoon, there is a very easy way to store it. After using it to scoop matcha, “do not wash” or “do not let it get wet” at all. Because the Cha-cha-ku is a tool that directly touches matcha. If you wash it, the Cha-cha-ku will have moisture. When you use it to scoop matcha, the moisture will flow to the matcha in the container, causing the matcha to clump together. In addition, washing the Cha-cha-ku too often will cause the bamboo to lose its shape and become old faster. Therefore, it is recommended to use dry tissue paper to gently wipe off the matcha powder. That is enough.

Chawan or tea cup, after use, rinse gently with water. It is not recommended to wash in a dishwasher or dryer. And do not use Scotch-Brite to scrub the cup too hard. Avoid using dishwashing liquid. Should use organic type with mild scent. After washing, it is not recommended to put in high temperature places such as microwave, oven or stove. But the most important point is that Chawan is for brewing matcha tea only. Should not be used to mix with other things. Otherwise, it may smell.

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There are some types of equipment that should be washed with hot water before first use and left to dry completely, such as ceramic teapots. After use, it is not recommended to use a dishwasher, dryer or dishwashing soap. For the built-in filter area, squeeze the water out of the spout. Use a toothbrush or toothpick to remove tea leaves stuck in the strainer. After use, always let it dry completely because if stored while still wet, it may cause musty smell or mold.

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Source

https://www.worldmarket.com/product/matcha-bowl-and-whisk-tea-gift-sets-set-of-2.do

thediscoverer.com

fitteaandsushi.blogspot.com

Article from: Fuwafuwa

The tea ceremony, or Chadou, comes from the words Cha (Cha) meaning “tea” and Dou (Dou) meaning “way”, which together mean “way of tea”. The highest purpose of the tea ceremony is to express the beauty of welcoming visitors, to appreciate the value and beauty of things around us, and to foster friendship between host and guest. The basic equipment for a complete tea ceremony includes:

1. Kama (Kama) a kettle used for boiling water for tea.
2. Natsume (Natsume) a jar for matcha powder
3. Chaire (Chaire) teapot
4. Chashaku (Chashaku) is a long, pointed spoon made of bamboo. See more at shorturl.at/alIZ1.
5. Chasen (Chasen) A tool for stirring tea, made of bamboo. See more at shorturl.at/sDGIT or shorturl.at/aqBT2.
6. Chawan (Chawan) A large tea cup that varies depending on the season.
7. Chakin (Chakin) a cloth for wiping tea cups
8. Hishaku (Hishaku) a ladle for scooping water for tea brewing

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Matchazuki has introduced you to many types of tea ceremony equipment. This time, we will introduce you to a small cloth called a Tea cloth (茶巾, chakin). Chakin is mostly white linen, but nowadays, it is also made with more patterns. The size varies depending on the use and style, but it is usually a rectangle of about 30.3 x 15.2 cm. The cloth is folded in a specific way and placed in a small container or cylinder called a kintō (巾筒). The chakin is commonly used to wipe chawan, or tea cups, after washing. The way to use the chakin requires that it be folded beautifully for easy and neat use, so that it looks elegant during the tea ceremony.

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You can see more folding methods at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv-wxLKVxuI&ab_channel=KoheiYamamoto

You can see how chakin is used to wipe tea cups (chawan) as shown in the example in the picture above. After folding, it is placed in the tea cup (chawan) before starting the ceremony as shown in the example below. If any shop has a tea ceremony activity in the shop so that customers can really experience the Japanese tea ceremony, don’t forget to bring the chakin cloth as part of the activity.

Source

https://www.facebook.com/MatsuKazeTea/photos/a.563146407056813/3132182870153141/shorturl.at/abqHN

Article from: Fuwafuwa

Chasen (茶筅 or tea whisk) is one of the most important tools for brewing and dissolving matcha powder. Therefore, it is very important to have the right type of brush and quality to get good matcha. There are many types of chasen, which have slight differences in materials, shapes, and usage. The main material used is bamboo. There are 3 main types of bamboo: Hachiku bamboo, Susudake bamboo, and Kurodake black bamboo. Hachiku bamboo is the most popular material for making chasen because its wood is smooth and soft, making it easy to carve. However, at the same time, it has low durability and is easy to break.

If you use Susudake bamboo , it will be more durable, but it is harder to find. Kurodake bamboo is the heaviest material used for making chasen, lasting three times longer than Hachiku bamboo, but Kurodake bamboo is especially difficult to carve. The bamboo used for chasen is usually about three years old and is harvested in winter. After harvesting, the bamboo is dried for a year. First, in winter it is made outside, leaving the wood in the winter weather, then it is stored in a dry storage area and left there for the whole year.

When the bamboo is ready, the most suitable and perfect bamboo is selected, cut into 9-12 cm long pieces and hand-carved into small pieces ready for use by the apprentices, and sent back to the master carver for further fine adjustments, including bending and spiraling.

The final shape of the chasen is determined by many factors, such as Chu-araho, a chasen with 70 to 80 coarser bristles used for Koicha (strong matcha), and Kazuho, a chasen with up to 120 finer bristles used primarily for Uzucha (diluted matcha).

Although many countries have made efforts to produce chasen, Japan consistently produces better quality due to the craftsman’s attention to detail at every stage, from careful selection of bamboo to each cutting and shaping. This is because the quality of bamboo has a great impact on the durability of the chasen, which means that tea brewing made from high-quality bamboo has a longer lifespan.

The finer the number of whisks, the smoother the matcha will be. Commonly sold chasen has between 16 and 120 whisks. The higher the number, the easier it is to whisk the tea powder into the water and whip the matcha into a fine, frothy foam. However, if there are fewer whisks, it will take longer to whip. As for how to use it, it is recommended to place the whisk part of the chasen into hot water for a few seconds to loosen the bamboo. The trick to whipping is to bend your wrist slightly while moving it. Whisk the ingredients as quickly as possible using an M or W-shape motion. After getting an even layer of foam, slowly use the whisk to rotate it again and it’s done.

There are many types of chasen. In fact, there are as many as a hundred generations. In the early days, only one generation of chasen was made. However, after the Japanese tea ceremony became popular, many of Sen no Rikyu’s students went on to open their own teahouses, spreading the knowledge they had gained from studying with Rikyu. Each of them adapted some of the details to suit their own identity and values. As time passed, those small differences in the beginning gradually spread until they became the differences between each teahouse. This also includes the shape of the chasen that each teahouse uses to make tea.

The thread used to wrap the chasen also differs depending on the model. Normally, the chasen uses black thread, but the chasen used on special occasions is wrapped with red or white thread for good luck, especially the chasen model used on New Year’s Day.

Want to know which tea whisks are popular? Read more in the article. >> Top 10 Green Tea Whisks: Which One is Good in 2022?

Source

http://japan-web-magazine.com/japanese-tea/japan-japanese-tea-ceremony0.html

https://zhaozhoutea.com/chasen-%E8%8C%B6%E7%AD%85-the-matcha-whiskchasen/

Article from: Fuwafuwa

 

Have you ever noticed that Japanese tea cups differ quite a bit in appearance from European tea cups? Japanese tea cups are not 100% smooth. Most are hand-made, with some roughness and colorful patterns that look like craftwork. Some, if you look closely, you’ll see that they’re actually broken cups, but have been smoothed out with gold, looking like they’re part of the teacup’s design. This method is called Kintsugi.

Kintsugi has a long history. In the 15th century, a Japanese shogun named Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged teacup to China for repair. It was returned with an ugly iron seam. The shogun had to find a better way to repair the broken thing. His craftsmen looked for an elegant way to reattach the pottery using a gold-plated lac. This technique, a beautiful joint that has been talked about throughout history, quickly became popular. Many collectors were so fond of this technique that they willingly smashed their precious pottery so they could repair it using Kintsugi. Naturally, the ceramic became more exquisite with every repair. Another way to repair chipped vessels using Kintsugi is because the Japanese believe that broken cups should not be thrown away, but should be repaired with gold lacquer to bring them back to life. Just like how everyone in our lives cannot escape emotional pain, such as the loss of a loved one or something dear to them, facing a serious illness or an accident that affects their life, or even lingering pain from the past. These emotional wounds need to be healed and remedied. Therefore, Kintsugi philosophy is applied to repair these deep and lingering emotional wounds so that we can return to life happier, stronger, and more understanding of others who are still hurting.

Kintsugi , a Japanese philosophy that embodies the idea that no life is perfect, is about making yourself aware of your own brokenness and fragility. This builds strength from the inside out, allowing you to be more positive than you are. Because repairing a broken cup with care and love allows us to understand that we should accept and respect the cracks and scars, the weaknesses and imperfections in ourselves and others, in order to find true happiness in life.

However, a kintsugi-treated teacup, while still usable, is still a broken one, not a perfect one. Rather, it’s the simplicity of not having to struggle to find a new one, but rather being willing to use a wrinkled teacup that’s been eroded by time. This is another philosophy of life that has long been deeply rooted in the Japanese psyche: a simple, humble aesthetic that doesn’t cling to perfection, willingly appreciating the wrinkles and decay of all things that decay over time. This concept is called “ wabi-sabi” (侘寂).

“ Wabi-sabi” (侘寂) is a concept that has been adapted and incorporated into loft, industrial, rustic, and minimalist interiors. This is easily observed in the tea cups we see Japanese people use. The unsmoothed rim of the cup allows the lips to feel its rough surface. Tea cups, on the other hand, are not sleek and elegant. Instead, they embody aesthetics that aim to evoke a sense of calm and simplicity in the mind of the tea drinker, demonstrating the essence of ” Wabi-sabi.”

The concept of the teacup arose during a time when the tea ceremony, influenced by Zen monks, was gaining widespread interest and becoming an integral part of art and philosophy. Chanoyu, or the way of tea, was highly popular among the upper class, warriors, and wealthy merchants. Tea ceremony utensils were imported from overseas and lavishly decorated. Beautiful teacups, in particular, were a sought-after luxury for the upper class and wealthy at the time. Between 1585 and 1586, Hideyoshi commissioned Rikyu to build a tea room entirely covered in gold for the arrival of Emperor Ogimachi. Hideyoshi himself served tea in simply blended cups , suggesting that tea was served in unadorned beauty, a true appreciation for beauty beyond appearances. Even imperfections allow for the true taste of tea to be experienced.

Wabi-sabi is also evident in the architecture and craftsmanship associated with the Japanese tea ceremony. These include teahouses, which are isolated from other buildings, small enough to accommodate the activity, and constructed from materials that are not inherently perishable, a hallmark of Japanese architecture, such as wooden houses and paper doors. This contrasts with Western modern architecture, which is conceived as perfect, timeless, and impervious to the elements of time.

Next, the rooms in the teahouse are usually designed so that no more than five people can enter at a time. The guest entrance is only 80 centimeters high. Everyone must crawl in on their hands and knees in a single line . The atmosphere is calm and equal, which reduces pride and creates a simple way of living together.

Inside the room are bowls and ceremonial utensils made from natural materials. Each piece bears its own unique traces and patina of time, demonstrating the beauty of imperfection. While these elements are not necessarily bad, when they come together, they can evoke a different perspective, creating an aesthetic approach to life that isn’t always perfect.

Source

https://www.bareo-isyss.com/service/decor-guide/wabi-sabi-decor/

https://www.hibiki-an.com/contents.php/cnID/61

https://www.bareo-isyss.com/service/decor-guide/wabi-sabi-decor/

https://jpninfo.com/thai/11264

https://gaskimishima.wordpress.com

https://etsy.me/2MjfImy

https://themomentum.co/wabi-sabi/

Article from: Fuwafuwa