Tea Adventures Seoul Korea

M ost people outside of Korea think of Korean tea culture as

consisting primarily of Barley Tea. For Koreans, tea is more of an experience steeped in spirituality. This is because Korean Buddhist tea ceremonies focus on spiritual awakening. Also, unknown to many ceramic enthusiasts is that Korean tea bowls are treasured collected tea ware in Japan. After the war in the1500’s many of the skilled Korean craftspeople left Korea to go to Japan.

It is believed that the first tea drinking in Korea began during the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 668)and was brought from China by Buddhists. However legend says that the teas from China were displaced by a tea plant native to Korea, known as Paeksan-ch’a. This was a white tea which grew on Mt. Paektusan, reputed to be as ancient as Korea’s Ko-Chosun period (2333-108. B.C.) This ancestor of Korea’s tea culture is still drunk in the region of Mt. Paektusan.

The Korean tea ceremony known as “darye-tea rite” has been practised for over a thousand years, initially as a religious ceremony shifting to a common practice used in celebrating the anniversary of an ancestor’s death. This is the history, the past of

tea in Korea, but… …Fast forward to Seoul, Korea today and we have a strong coffee culture influenced by the west. However, tea is making a comeback in new ways. Especially with the pressures of modern life, more people are turning to tea as a place of zen, tranquility and health.

take time for tea...The Cafe Show Seoul

Macaroons by Double Sweet

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