Chasen or Electric Frother: Which Should You Use for Matcha?
Fine foam or quick preparation? See what a chasen and an electric frother change in your cup, and which we recommend.
By Roseline Zhou, Founder
Contents
When you first try matcha, you often make it with whatever is at hand: an electric milk frother or an ordinary kitchen whisk. It's a good way to begin without buying all the tools for matcha at once. Then, cup by cup, you become more particular. Texture matters, and so does foam.
Many people keep using their electric frother out of habit. We advise against it, except in a few situations. For matcha drunk with water, nothing replaces the chasen, the bamboo whisk used in the Japanese tea ceremony, because it produces fine, dense foam. For a latte made quickly before you leave, though, an electric frother works very well: the milk will cover the foam anyway. At our Maison de Matcha locations, every matcha served with water is whisked with artisanal chasens, hand-carved in Japan from a single piece of bamboo using traditional techniques.
What really sets a chasen apart from an electric frother?
| What matters | Chasen | Electric frother | Our advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foam | Fine and dense, controlled by your stroke | Airier, with larger bubbles | Choose the chasen whenever you drink matcha with water |
| Latte | Mixes the powder without difficulty | Quick and effective for a smooth base | Choose the electric frother, since the milk will cover the foam |
| Vessel | A wide bowl that gives the tines room to move | A tall enough glass or jug to prevent splashes | First consider what you'll drink from |
| Cleaning | Rinse and air-dry after each cup | Rinse the head; keep the handle dry | Choose the one you'll actually clean |
| Travel | Fragile, and it needs to dry before storage | Compact, provided you remember to charge it | The frother, without hesitation |
Which makes better foam: a chasen or a frother?
Use your wrist to move the chasen in a quick zigzag, as though drawing an M at the bottom of the bowl. In about fifteen seconds, the tines break up lumps and trap air in tiny bubbles. You can feel the tea's resistance change in your hand. That's your cue to stop.
The frother spins for you, and much faster. It disperses the powder well, but the foam has larger bubbles that collapse sooner. In a wide, shallow bowl, it also has a frustrating habit of splashing. With matcha prepared with water, you can taste the difference: texture matters almost as much as the tea itself.
For a latte, an electric frother is more than enough
In a latte, matcha is the base. It needs to be smooth, with no lumps at the bottom of the glass, and its foam will disappear under the milk. The frother does that very well, especially on rushed mornings.
One rule applies to both tools. Always mix the powder with a little water before adding milk; no whisk can rescue powder left dry at the bottom. With a frother, use a vessel that's tall enough, unless you'd like to repaint your counter green.
Cleaning is the chasen's real demand
A chasen needs a little attention. Rinse it in warm water right after use, without soap, then let it air-dry, ideally on a naoshi, a small ceramic stand that helps it keep its shape. It deteriorates quickly if put away damp in a drawer.
Over time, a few tines will break, and that's normal. You can recognize wear on a chasen when several tips are split or too misshapen to whisk evenly. A few tines that have simply spread make little difference to the stroke; check instead whether all the tips can still move freely in the bowl.
The frother is simpler. Clean its head as the instructions direct, without ever immersing the handle, and you're done. The only other requirement is remembering to recharge it.
When a chasen isn't for you
Let's be honest: a chasen doesn't suit everyone. If you mostly drink lattes, or you make matcha at work in a narrow mug, a frother will serve you better. There's nothing wrong with that.
If, on the other hand, you enjoy matcha on its own with water and take pleasure in preparing it, a chasen really changes the experience. You still need to choose it well. How you drink the tea should guide your choice of chasen; the number and flexibility of its tines matter too.
The chasen we recommend
For matcha drunk with water, we recommend our artisanal chasen. It needs the same care as any bamboo chasen: rinse it and let it air-dry after each cup. That's all it asks in return for fine foam.