Sooner or later, the tines of tea whisks
get broken. When you get too many broken
tines, it is the time to replace the whisk.
I wanted to show you a good example with many broken tines, but I could
not find one. The picture below illustrates
a broken tine on my whisk.
My tea master has several whisks and they
are frequently used in tea lessons. She says
that whisks last about one year or less.
I don’t prepare matcha at home
that often, so I believe that I’m using the same tea whisk more than three
years.
It is difficult to determine its lifespan
just by its term of use. It pretty much
depends on how often you use it and how you treat it. In my opinion, it is okay to use a whisk with
some broken tines at home for private use, but if you serve tea for some other
people, you would not like to use a ragged one, with many broken tines.
I had some other questions about treating
tea whisks from my blog readers. There might
be different opinions over treating tea whisks, but these are the answers that
I heard from my master:
Question 1:
Should we "season" our whisks after opening a new one by
soaking them for an amount of time?
Answer:
No need. Just have it wet before
each use
Question 2:
Some people advice to put it on a ceramic whisk stand after washing
to dry up there. Do you think this is better than hanging it
or the same?
Answer:
Yes, it is better to use a whisk stand if you have one. Over time, the opening angle of the tines gradually
narrows and the figure of the whisk is getting thinner. Keeping it on a whisk stand can prevent the
narrowing.
I, myself have a whisk stand, but I’m not using
it. So, I really don’t know how
effective it is. Some people are using
the stands and some are not.
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I have recently started reading your blog, and I am really glad you have this blog! Your English is very good, and I am learning so much from you! I love all the different things you post about.
ReplyDeleteI study Japanese tea ceremony in the USA. I have noticed some tea whisks that have developed a big crack all the way up the handle, until the crack even reaches the tines. Do you think it is because of dry weather, or something else? I even found a new whisk in a store like that.
Hi, thank you for your comment. I studied English in the USA about two years. I love your culture and miss many thing.
ReplyDeleteWow, you learn Japanese tea ceremony in the states!! That’s impressive. I really glad to know that. I hope I can have tea with you. It would be wonderful if I can experience a tea ceremony in my favorite country.
Anyway, about the serious crack on your whisks. I agree, the dry climate would be the reason. Wooden-ware manufactures say that if products are used in much dryer climate than where the wood is processed, there will be a chance of cracking. Sorry, I can’t give you a good advice on this. But, maybe you could try looking for a local product by any chance.