In the Japanese tea ceremony, everything revolves around the matcha bowl. These matcha bowls are the perfect tool for preparing matcha tea.
In this article, we are going to take a quick look at what the matcha bowl is, how to use matcha bowls and why you may want to get a Japanese matcha tea bowl.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
Watch the Matcha Bowls Video
Where to Buy Matcha Bowls
If you are looking for a matcha bowl, you can find them all over our website. We have a few different types of matcha sets and japanese matcha tea bowl, so you can save money while you get all the teaware you need to make the perfect matcha tea bowls.
The matcha bowls are separated by color, pattern and shape, so you can easily find one to meet your unique preferences.
If you want to learn more about matcha bowls before you buy, keep reading! We're going to teach you everything you need to know about Japanese matcha bowls.
By the way if you want to learn more about matcha tea, you'll want to read our article 👉 What is Matcha? The one and only Matcha-Encyclopedia
What are matcha bowls?
The matcha bowl or chawan matcha bowl is the bowl used specifically for preparing matcha tea. The matcha bowl is specially designed to make matcha preparation easier, and many tea lovers like the simplistic yet functional aesthetic design of the Japanese matcha tea bowl.
What are matcha bowls used for
The matcha bowl is one of the utensils used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The Japanese tea ceremony is where the japanese matcha bowls first became famous, but now they are mostly used in tea shops and in homes all around the world.
Although it is very simplistically designed, the chawan matcha bowl has a few great features that make matcha preparation easier and more enjoyable. Matcha bowls are usually made out of clay, but it is not uncommon to see a ceramic matcha bowl as well.
How to prepare matcha bowls
Before you use the matcha bowl, you will want to preheat it. This is done in the Japanese tea ceremony, as part of the strict set of rules and principles. There is also a more practical reason for doing it.
These japanese matcha bowls are made out of an extremely thick clay. This means that they are really good at absorbing heat. If the matcha bowls are cool, they will quickly make your matcha cold and less enjoyable to drink.
Preheating the Japanese matcha tea bowl
Instead, you can pour some hot water into the Japanese matcha tea bowl until it is about halfway filled and leave it in for about a minute. This will allow the heavy matcha bowl to absorb the heat, and it should be warm to the touch even on the outside.
What may save some time is to actually soak your bamboo matcha whisk during this process. During the Japanese tea ceremony, the tea master prepares the matcha bowl and whisk at the same time.
After the matcha bowl and whisk have been soaked and warmed up, you are ready to add the matcha powder in, pour in the water and whisk up the tea! If you want to learn the proper whisking technique, you'll want to read this article 👉 How to Use a Matcha Whisk explained by Experts
Benefits of matcha bowls
Although the matcha bowls are simply designed, they actually have a few key features to them.
First the shape of the japanese matcha bowls are more cylindrical compared to a regular bowl. This maximizes the space around the base of the japanese matcha tea bowl, so you have more room for the whisking motions.
This extra space is particularly useful if you are just starting out, because it will be difficult to master these more refined movements until you have a few hundred matcha bowls under your belt.
Patterns on the traditional Japanese matcha tea bowl
The matcha bowls also tend to feature a pattern on the side. This pattern serves an important role during the tea ceremony.
The guest is expected to turn the Japanese matcha tea bowl towards the other guests so they can look at the most beautiful side of the matcha bowl as they drink. This conveys respect, which is one of the core principles of the tea ceremony.
The clay used in traditional matcha bowls
Finally, the heavy clay used to make matcha bowls conveys a sense of importance. It forces you to use two hands on the Japanese matcha tea bowl and really focus on the tea drinking experience.
This really helps you to tune out the external noise and focus on being present. This is critical during both the Japanese tea ceremony as well as your own matcha ceremonies you create at home.
