Chaire (thick tea caddy)
A small lidded ceramic jar holding the matcha used for thick tea, with an ivory or bone lid faced in gold leaf. The distinction that matters is against the natsume: a chaire is ceramic and holds the powder for koicha, a natsume is lacquered wood and holds the powder for usucha, and the two are not interchangeable within the practice.
Identity
- Category
- Storage
- Native name
- 茶入
- Romanised
- chaire, cha ire
- Also called
- koicha caddy, ceramic tea caddy
- Material
- Glazed ceramic body with a separate ivory, bone or synthetic lid
- Typical capacity
- 30–80 ml
- Skill level
- Advanced
Porosity
Not porous. It contributes nothing of its own to the liquor, so it can be moved between teas freely and washed with detergent without consequence.
Where it comes from
Japanese, and specific to chanoyu, where individual caddies carry names and recorded ownership. A chaire is kept in a fitted silk pouch called a shifuku, tied with a cord in a defined knot; TeaHQ records the pouch here rather than as a separate object because it has no use apart from the jar.
Named here rather than presented as generic equipment. The object belongs to a practice, and TeaHQ describes it from the outside.
If you do not own one
The tin the matcha came in. As storage, a sealed opaque tin kept cold outperforms any ceramic caddy, and the chaire is not primarily a storage solution.
This one is not marked essential. The tea can be made without it.
Brewing methods it is used for
- Koicha (thick matcha) — Matcha prepared thick enough to pour like paint rather than to whisk into foam. It is not a stronger version of everyday matcha but a separate preparation with its own motion, its own grade of powder and, in chanoyu, its own place in the sequence — and it is the older of the two.
Tea types it suits
Care and maintenance
Wipe with a dry cloth; do not wash. The lid is the vulnerable part — natural material lids crack if they dry out or are exposed to heat, and a replacement is a specialist job.
Other storages
Sources
This page is TeaHQ synthesis. No external source stands behind the description, the material or the account of how the object is cared for. Where the record names a tradition, that attribution is TeaHQ’s own reading of common practice rather than a citation.
TeaHQ names no maker, brand or shop and has nothing to sell. Nothing on this page should be read as advice to buy the object — the substitute note above exists because owning it is usually optional.