Not totally interested in buying teas or the gorgeous ceramic items in Seoul. I would buy if there're items I fall in love with. Otherwise, there're just too many beautiful pieces that might not be totally necessary for me to stock them unless I'm opening a teahouse. I'm not. What I wanted to do, is to sample some Korean teas, and understand about their various tea ceremonies, commonly summarized as the darye (다례, or in hancha, 茶禮), and learn about tea wares used.
As touristy as it sounds, I took time to visit Icheon Ceramics Village. Icheon is known for its ceramics. Without understanding clay, glazing and pottery, I'd not fully appreciate how tea interacts with the vessels and how the treatment and aesthetics of the vessels used in the tea ceremonies are given various levels of importance and emphasis. I was glad to be able to get an overview of Korean clay- in its prized porcelain and celadon, and how a finished product's shades of colors could vary according to season and available light at the workshops. My eyes glazed over at the portion on the various potting styles, of umm...glazing, and form. But yes, I now know slightly more about pottery than before arriving in Seoul.
Jiri-san (Mount Jiri) spans three regions of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and South Gyeonsang. The tea fields along Jiri-san are known for producing quality teas. I was told about the partly fermented and pan-fried chungohyang yellow tea (황차) from Hwangae-dong in the province of South Gyeongsang at Jiri-san. It's like an oolong, similar to a robust thickly brewed 2-year-old 'Guangdong Dancong' (单丛) or a 3-yr--old 'Huang Jin Gui' (黄金桂) in terms of flavor and taste. It smells medicinal and some of it is more like an Assam then our familiar Chinese yellow teas. In Korean, this genre of tea is referred to as 'hwangcha' or in hancha and han script, '黃茶'. Also known as 'balhyo-cha'.
Insufficient time to get out to the tea fields in the South meant that the next best thing to do- seek out teahouses in Seoul whenever possible, between coffee runs, and stick with a tea instructor for lessons for 3 days to get an overview of Korea's tea culture. I tried to soak it all in as much as possible in this short trip.
Korean green tea (chaksol or chugno, 녹차) is known to be refined and the production to be meticulous. It's closer in characteristics to some Chinese green teas rather than the Japanese matcha. Even within Korea, it's rare to get good quality green tea. Many teahouses and restaurants serve flowers, berries and root teas. Leaf teas are available too, but I've not much interest in them. (Think chrysanthemum, ginseng, jujube, persimmon leaf, mugwort, and mulberry stuff) Of course good green tea aren't not exported in large quantities either. Green tea is best drunk within a year of its harvest. It's not meant to be aged or kept. Any storage should be kept in the fridge. The tea fields of Boseong in South Jeolla yield the best quality green tea. Jeju Island holds a number of lovely green tea fields, but their green teas are often briny, and wields a higher percentage of roast.
Perhaps on another trip, I'll make time to go to the provinces where beautiful scenery awaits. The tea lessons on this trip are certainly enlightening. If you're keen on such an itinerary before part of your experience in Seoul, visit The Panyaro Institute. It's centrally located at Insa-dong. Do call before you turn up. Or find a Korean friend who's really into tea, and will introduce you to the history and culture of tea in Korea. I tried very hard to understand about Panyaro, the Korean way of tea (especially in making green tea) which has its roots steeped in Zen Buddhism. So for some parts of it, I was totally lost.
I've missed the freshness of this year's elegant first flush (woojeon/ujeon), but am in time to taste the also-exquisite second flush (saejak/sejak) and last year's still-fine third flush (joonjak/junjak). Still, I lapped up whatever my Korean tea teacher is willing to share with me. To be able to taste proper Korean loose leaf and powdered green tea beats going out to the supermarkets to settle for the not-ideal teabags which lends a peculiar flavor to the final brews.
As touristy as it sounds, I took time to visit Icheon Ceramics Village. Icheon is known for its ceramics. Without understanding clay, glazing and pottery, I'd not fully appreciate how tea interacts with the vessels and how the treatment and aesthetics of the vessels used in the tea ceremonies are given various levels of importance and emphasis. I was glad to be able to get an overview of Korean clay- in its prized porcelain and celadon, and how a finished product's shades of colors could vary according to season and available light at the workshops. My eyes glazed over at the portion on the various potting styles, of umm...glazing, and form. But yes, I now know slightly more about pottery than before arriving in Seoul.
Jiri-san (Mount Jiri) spans three regions of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and South Gyeonsang. The tea fields along Jiri-san are known for producing quality teas. I was told about the partly fermented and pan-fried chungohyang yellow tea (황차) from Hwangae-dong in the province of South Gyeongsang at Jiri-san. It's like an oolong, similar to a robust thickly brewed 2-year-old 'Guangdong Dancong' (单丛) or a 3-yr--old 'Huang Jin Gui' (黄金桂) in terms of flavor and taste. It smells medicinal and some of it is more like an Assam then our familiar Chinese yellow teas. In Korean, this genre of tea is referred to as 'hwangcha' or in hancha and han script, '黃茶'. Also known as 'balhyo-cha'.
Korean green tea (chaksol or chugno, 녹차) is known to be refined and the production to be meticulous. It's closer in characteristics to some Chinese green teas rather than the Japanese matcha. Even within Korea, it's rare to get good quality green tea. Many teahouses and restaurants serve flowers, berries and root teas. Leaf teas are available too, but I've not much interest in them. (Think chrysanthemum, ginseng, jujube, persimmon leaf, mugwort, and mulberry stuff) Of course good green tea aren't not exported in large quantities either. Green tea is best drunk within a year of its harvest. It's not meant to be aged or kept. Any storage should be kept in the fridge. The tea fields of Boseong in South Jeolla yield the best quality green tea. Jeju Island holds a number of lovely green tea fields, but their green teas are often briny, and wields a higher percentage of roast.
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| A pinch of green tea; sejak (second flush May-early July), from Mount Jiri. |
Perhaps on another trip, I'll make time to go to the provinces where beautiful scenery awaits. The tea lessons on this trip are certainly enlightening. If you're keen on such an itinerary before part of your experience in Seoul, visit The Panyaro Institute. It's centrally located at Insa-dong. Do call before you turn up. Or find a Korean friend who's really into tea, and will introduce you to the history and culture of tea in Korea. I tried very hard to understand about Panyaro, the Korean way of tea (especially in making green tea) which has its roots steeped in Zen Buddhism. So for some parts of it, I was totally lost.
I've missed the freshness of this year's elegant first flush (woojeon/ujeon), but am in time to taste the also-exquisite second flush (saejak/sejak) and last year's still-fine third flush (joonjak/junjak). Still, I lapped up whatever my Korean tea teacher is willing to share with me. To be able to taste proper Korean loose leaf and powdered green tea beats going out to the supermarkets to settle for the not-ideal teabags which lends a peculiar flavor to the final brews.
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