A hand\u2011carved tea scoop made from roasted birch wood, crafted by Czech artist Franti\u0161ek Pol\u00edvka. <\/p>\n
A tea scoop makes it easier to place the leaves into your vessel \u2014 something that isn\u2019t always simple when brewing in a very small teapot. Using a scoop is deeply satisfying: the leaves slide smoothly into the pot, with no need to touch them with your fingers or worry about spilling them. <\/p>\n
A chaze is also used for presenting the leaves, letting you admire them before brewing. It also allows you to control how they\u2019re arranged \u2014 in some cases you may want the smallest leaves to fall into the teapot first, with the larger ones resting on top. <\/p>\n
Its Chinese name, chaze, means \u201ctea standard.\u201d Why? Because using it is a way of measuring tea visually. By placing the leaves against the same background each time, it becomes easy to judge the right amount \u2014 and with experience, you no longer need an electronic scale. <\/p>\n