Reference
Tools
You need less than you might think. What follows is sorted by how much it actually matters — start with the first group and add the rest only if you want to.
Start here
Kyusu
- What it does
- The small pot Japanese tea is brewed in. The name changes with the handle: yokode has it on the right side, ushirode at the back, and a houhin has none at all — a small one used for gyokuro. In Japan, kyusu on its own means the side-handled kind.
- Choosing one
- For a first pot, a 200 ml side-handled one with either a sasame strainer (fine holes drilled straight into the clay wall) or a coarse band mesh. If you drink deep-steamed sencha, avoid a fine metal mesh — the small particles will block it. Clay from Tokoname or Banko is the norm; porcelain picks up less odor and is easier to look after.
- Looking after it
- Rinse with hot water, no detergent, and dry it properly. Tea staining does no harm to the flavor, but left long enough it starts to smell. A soft toothbrush clears the inside of the spout. Around 200 ml suits two cups; too large a pot means a small amount of leaf never gets submerged.
Chawan (tea bowl)
- What it does
- The bowl matcha is whisked in. It is not only what you drink from — it is also the working surface for the whisk.
- Choosing one
- Wide mouth, flat floor. Too narrow and the whisk cannot move; too round and the powder collects in the bottom. There is a tradition of shallow bowls in summer and deep ones in winter, but one bowl is plenty to begin with. Not needed at all if you don't drink matcha.
- Looking after it
- Ridges or heavy texture inside trap powder and make whisking harder. An inexpensive bowl does the job perfectly well as long as the inside is smooth and the floor is flat.
Chasen (bamboo whisk)
- What it does
- The bamboo whisk matcha is made with, split from a single piece of bamboo.
- Choosing one
- For usucha, around eighty tines is easy to handle — more tines give a finer foam. Koicha is not whisked to a foam, so it uses a whisk with fewer, sturdier tines. A small metal whisk will work, but the foam is coarser.
- Looking after it
- Soak the tines in hot water before use and they are far less likely to snap. Rinse in hot water straight after, never with detergent, and dry tines-up. It is a consumable — replace it when tines start breaking. A whisk stand keeps its shape.
Makes a difference
Yuzamashi (cooling vessel)
- What it does
- A vessel you pour boiling water into to bring the temperature down. It earns its place with gyokuro and high-grade sencha, which are brewed cool.
- Choosing one
- You do not need to buy one — a teacup does the same job. Each transfer drops the temperature by roughly 5–10°C (9–18°F), though it depends on the vessel and the volume; reaching gyokuro range takes several transfers or a pause. If you do buy one, look for a clean pouring lip and walls thick enough to hold when full.
- Looking after it
- Counting how many vessels the water has passed through is more practical than a thermometer. It also warms the cups on the way, so the tea stays hot longer once poured.
Tea caddy
- What it does
- An airtight container for storing leaf. Tea's enemies are light, air, moisture, heat and other smells; a tin handles three of them at once.
- Choosing one
- A double lid seals better. Avoid anything transparent. If the tea came in a resealable foil-lined bag, that bag is already a good container — there is no need to decant. A tin much larger than the amount of tea leaves a lot of air inside, which works against you.
- Looking after it
- Reusing a tin across different teas transfers the smell. Put sencha into a tin that held hojicha and you will taste it. Keep one per type.
Nice to have
Chashaku (tea scoop)
- What it does
- The bamboo scoop for matcha. Two scoops — about 2 g — is one serving of usucha.
- Choosing one
- A teaspoon works (roughly 1 g level). That said, powder clings less to bamboo and the dose is more consistent. If you buy one, a straight profile is the easiest to use.
- Looking after it
- Do not wash it in water. Wet bamboo makes the powder stick and damages the scoop. Wipe it with a dry cloth and that is all it needs.
Horoku (roasting pan)
- What it does
- An unglazed shallow pan for roasting leaf. It lets you turn sencha or bancha into hojicha on the spot.
- Choosing one
- A frying pan will do. The unglazed clay spreads heat gently and scorches less readily, but it is not essential. To try the idea at all, start with the pan you already own and a small amount of leaf.
- Looking after it
- Low heat, constant movement, and watch the color. Roast it until it smokes and it turns bitter. Aroma peaks the moment it comes off the heat and falls away from there, so roast only what you are about to drink.
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