What is a chasen supplier in Europe?
A chasen supplier in Europe is a wholesaler that keeps bamboo matcha whisks in stock inside the EU and sells them to businesses at net prices, so a café, tea shop or online store buys without importing anything. Global Trade Group is such a supplier: we stock 14 chasen models in Poland and ship them across the EU.
A chasen (茶筅) is the whisk used to prepare matcha. It is cut from one piece of bamboo, and its head is split into fine, flexible tines that whisk matcha powder and water into foam. Our chasen glossary page explains the parts of the whisk and their Japanese names.
The businesses that buy chasen from us are cafés, tea shops, online stores, gift-set makers, distributors and private-label brands. They have one thing in common: they want chasen by the carton, not by the container.
Where are chasen made?
Chasen come from two kinds of workshop. In Japan, Takayama in Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, is the only place that still produces tea whisks, and every step there is done by hand. The chasen sold wholesale by the carton are made in bamboo-tool factories: ours come from a factory in China and are stocked in Poland.
Japan's Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries lists Takayama chasen as a traditional craft designated on 10 May 1975. The association counts 120 types of Takayama chasen, with the tines split by knife into 60 to 240 strands depending on the style and its use.
A hand-cut Takayama chasen is a craft object, chosen for the tea ceremony and priced accordingly. The whisks a café uses every day, and the whisk a shop puts into a matcha set, are factory-made.
What are the ways to buy chasen wholesale in Europe?
A business in Europe can buy chasen wholesale in four ways: from a stockist inside the EU, directly from a factory in China, from a maker in Japan, or through a marketplace. The four routes differ in the size of the first order, the time to delivery, and who files the customs and product-safety paperwork.
| Route | First order | Time to your door | Paperwork |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU stockist (Global Trade Group) | From 25 pieces of GTG201001, one carton | Courier despatch from stock in Poland | None for you: the goods are already in the EU, and the stockist is the EU importer |
| Factory in China, imported by you | The factory's minimum for each model | Production, then 30–38 days at sea from Yantian to Gdańsk, then inland transport | Your customs declaration, EORI number and import VAT on entry; you become the EU importer |
| Maker in Japan | Hand-cut whisks | Freight from Japan | Your customs declaration and import VAT on entry; you become the EU importer |
| Marketplace | Set by each seller | Depends on where the seller's stock is | Depends on where the stock is; the offer must name the manufacturer and, for a maker outside the EU, the responsible person in the EU |
CN 4419 19 00 is the EU customs code for bamboo tableware and kitchenware, and TARIC, the EU customs tariff database, sets its third-country duty at 0%. Importing chasen yourself therefore saves no duty. It adds the declaration, import VAT paid on entry and the wait for a sailing.
Why does EU stock matter for a café or shop?
Stock inside the EU removes three things an import brings: the customs declaration, the wait for a sailing, and the duties of an EU importer under product-safety law. An EU company with a VAT number confirmed in VIES also buys from our stock in Poland at 0% VAT, under the reverse charge.
No customs. The EU is a customs union: goods that have entered it move between member states without customs duties or customs clearance. Customs clearance is the declaration of goods to customs on entry from outside the EU, and the chasen in our warehouse have already been through it.
0% VAT for EU companies. Article 138 of the EU VAT Directive exempts goods dispatched to another member state when the buyer is a business identified for VAT in that state and gives the supplier its VAT number. We check the number in VIES, the EU register of VAT numbers, and invoice at 0%. The buyer then accounts for the VAT in its own country, which is the reverse charge. Polish companies pay 23% VAT, as in any domestic sale.
The importer's duties are carried for you. Since 13 December 2024, the EU General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 allows a product onto the EU market only if an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for it (Article 16). An importer must put its name and postal and electronic address on the product, its packaging or an accompanying document (Article 11). Global Trade Group is the EU importer of our chasen, so a business buying from our stock does not take on those duties.
Smaller orders and samples. One carton holds 25 whisks, and samples come before a bulk order on every line. A café can test the whisk with its own matcha before it orders a single carton.
Which chasen models do we stock?
We stock 14 chasen models in Poland: whisks with 80, 100 and 120 prongs in white and purple bamboo, shin, kazuho and tsuneho cuts, a nodate travel whisk and long-handled whisks. Prices and the minimum order are published for GTG201001. The other models are quoted against their codes.
| Code | Model | Prongs | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTG201001 | Bamboo matcha whisk, 100 prongs | ≈ 100 | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201004 / GTG201015 | 80 prongs, white / purple bamboo | ≈ 80 | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201013 | 100 prongs, purple bamboo | ≈ 100 | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201016 | 100 prongs with a decorative charm, 4 designs | ≈ 100 | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201005 / GTG201014 | 120 prongs, white / purple bamboo | ≈ 120 | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201006 | Kazuho, white bamboo | 72 outer | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201007 | Tsuneho, white bamboo | 72 outer | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201009 / GTG201010 | Shin, white / purple bamboo | 64 outer | ≈ 115 mm |
| GTG201008 | Nodate travel whisk | 60 outer | ≈ 70 mm |
| GTG201011 / GTG201012 | Long-handled, white / purple bamboo | 40 outer | ≈ 170 mm |
For the 80-, 100- and 120-prong whisks the table gives the count in the name of the cut. For the other cuts it gives the outer tines, as our product pages do. What the counts mean for foam is explained in how to choose a chasen.
Beside the whisks, the matcha tools catalogue holds three chashaku bamboo scoops, a stainless-steel matcha sifter, a chasen-and-chashaku set and a tool kit in a gift box. Stock varies by model: what is not in stock is made to order, and the quotation states the date.
What does a chasen cost wholesale from EU stock?
The GTG201001 chasen costs EUR 3.50 net per piece from 25 pieces, EUR 3.20 from 100, EUR 2.80 from 500 and EUR 2.40 from 1,000. From 5,000 pieces the price is quoted individually. A net price is a price without VAT. Shipping is quoted separately by destination, quantity and weight.
| Quantity | Net price per piece | Smallest order at that price |
|---|---|---|
| 25–99 pieces | EUR 3.50 | 25 pieces = EUR 87.50 |
| 100–499 pieces | EUR 3.20 | 100 pieces = EUR 320 |
| 500–999 pieces | EUR 2.80 | 500 pieces = EUR 1,400 |
| 1,000–4,999 pieces | EUR 2.40 | 1,000 pieces = EUR 2,400 |
A carton holds 25 whisks and measures 300 × 300 × 110 mm, at about 1.55 kg. Each GTG201001 chasen comes in a plastic tube, and a paper tube costs EUR 0.50 more per piece. Private label, meaning your brand name, logo, label and packaging, starts at 1,000 pieces. What a shop earns on each whisk is worked through in chasen wholesale: prices, shop margin and private label.
How do you order chasen from our stock in Poland?
Send us the product codes and quantities by email, on WhatsApp or through the quote form on a product page, and we reply with net prices within one business day. You pay online or by bank transfer, the VAT invoice follows, and the tracking number appears on your order page once the parcel ships.
The codes are in the matcha tools catalogue, and the contact page lists every way to reach our sales team. The offer states the net prices, the VAT treatment, the shipping cost and the despatch date.
Within Poland, InPost and DPD deliver; across the EU, DHL; larger orders travel by pallet. A chasen from our warehouse goes out by courier, without waiting for a container.