The Art of the Korean Tea Ceremony

Some of the best experiences pop up spontaneously. These days it's more difficult to be spontaneous with family and work, but I am still ready for anything as much as I possibly can be. When Jee asked if I wanted to attend a Korean Tea seminar at the Korea Society, I knew I couldn't say no. I don't know much at all about Korean tea, and knew this would be a special opportunity to learn more. Knowledgeable representatives from the Hagajae Museum in Korean flew up just for this special event.

Preparing the Handong Green Tea

We had the unique opportunity to try a Korean green tea, learn about the Korean tea ceremony and how it differs from the Japanese and Chinese styles, and also sample matcha with Korean snacks.

Preparing the Teaware for the Tea Ceremony

When we first arrived we were given cups of green tea served in a side-handled teapot prepared and served to us with intention and fluidity. I asked about the tea and was told it was wild grown in Handong and not farmed . I actually had a chance to try my hand at preparing the loose green tea by following the gestures of one of the tea experts. It was fun to get hands-on, but I was quite nervous since I have the true nature of a klutz. Note, this is preparation of loose leaf tea, not the ceremonial matcha preparation. You can learn a little bit about how to traditionally prepare a pot of Korean green tea here.

Preparing the matcha

The knowledgeable Dr. Roy Ghim, president of the the Hagajae Museum led an interesting discussion about Korean Tea. A good amount of time was spent differentiating between Chinese, Korean, and Japanese style and how this is reflected in the tea ceremony. We learned the Chinese style is more flamboyant, with flourishes not seen in the other two cultures. The Japanese aesthetic is much more minimal and precise. Korean style seems to be in-between with a focus on nature and poetry. We were shown photographs of the different tea houses and it was helpful visually see how they are similar yet very different.

We were then treated to a Korean tea ceremony. It is very similar to the Japanese tea ceremony in equipment, grace, and extreme focus. It's beautifully controlled choreography. It did feel a bit different though, a little more fluid and less rigid. From start to finish, reverence is paid to the tea, and gratitude shown to the individuals preparing and sipping the tea. The service was quite meditative to watch. It's hard to explain every step and I was more interested in observing than taking notes. Jee and I had the opportunity to take photographs the next day, so I hope the pictures will help give you an idea of how the ceremony looks. I also just noticed that The Korea Society posted a video of the entire night right here. It is a lengthy video but I encourage you to at least watch a little bit.

When you are served a bowl of tea you are supposed to finish it in three sips. I thought this was interesting, as it basically forces you to really savor and think about the tea if you only have three sips to enjoy it. We were given a few Korean snacks to enjoy with our tea. They all paired well with the vegetal, sweet matcha.

ready for serving

This evening of tea and education opened my mind to the world of Korean tea. I'm eager to learn more about it and try a few more teas. I've only had a handful of Korean grown teas, mostly delicate greens and a delicious black tea called Jukro that has notes of burnt brownie and vanilla. If anyone has a Korean tea they love, please recommend it!

Review: Palais des Thés: Thé des Amants

If you've been following my instagram feed now and again, you'll notice I started an 'Office Tea Club' at work. It's a nice way to get together and share tea. It's a time to decompress, learn, and taste. I receive many samples, and I love being able to share some with the group. We'll often learn about a particular type of tea, and we've even tried a few tea cocktails over the holidays. Since Valentine's Day is this week, I decided to serve the Palais des Thés thé des amants to the group. It was sent for review as a Valentine's tea, and I was excited to find out how well it paired with chocolate. 

The description from the company's website shows why this was sent as a Valentine's tea:

Rich and sensual, Thé des Amants green tea is a voluptuous and fragrant blend of green tea with apple, almond and cinnamon, spiced up with a hint of ginger.

Meaning "Tea of Lovers" in French, Thé des Amants is a true celebration of love.

The ingredients are green tea (China), apple, cinnamon, almond, natural flavor. The dry leaves smell mostly of apple and cinnamon. The brew has a nice combination of mellow grassy green tea, tart apple, cinnamon and a bit of zing from the ginger. There is a smooth nuttiness from the almond, but it's subtle. I was expecting more of a marzipan flavor but I didn't notice it. The tea has an aroma similar to an apple tart, which would make this a pleasing dessert tea. The majority of the Club members gave this tea a positive review, and I even heard a few happy sighs as we sipped.

During our meeting we had the tea, dark chocolate and the necessary (and so disgusting) Sweethearts that are stamped with cheesy love notes. The chocolate wasn't the best hoice since the sweet, rich chocolate masked the more delicate flavors in the tea. But still, you've gotta have chocolate for Valentine's Day! A white chocolate or milk chocolate would probably be a better choice with this tea. The Sweethearts were more disgusting than I remembered, but there was one flavor that actually worked well with this tea! The green hearts tasted like an artificial version of sour green apple. These actually brought out the sweet apple notes in the tea. It was a surprisingly successful taste combination.

Since I'm not a flavored tea fan I probably won't be sipping this on Valentine's Day, but I can see this as a nice choice if you enjoy apple pie and ginger flavors. It's sweet and a tiny bit spicy. I also like that you can actually taste the green tea. I imagine it would be good to bake with as well, perhaps to add to stewed fruit or even in a shortbread cookie recipe.

Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you enjoy, and find some time for a sip with someone you love. 

Thank you to Palais des Thés for sending this tea.

Rinsing Your Tea Things

The other day we were in Queens celebrating the lunar new year with friends and decided to pop into a Chinese grocery store. I made a beeline for the tea aisle and enjoyed perusing all the packages. There were lots of affordable oolong and puerh teas to be seen. I picked up a pricier black tea, and looked at the back. The directions stated:

"Put the tea-things in boiling water, after bearing flushing with heating water, then put in proper amount of tea leaves. And infuse 2-3 minutes, then it can be served."

At a quick glance I thought this was rinsing the tea, but then realized it was the 'tea-things', which I assume means the brewing vessel and cups. The first step in brewing gongfu style is to rise the teapot and cups in hot water to warm and clean them. I assume this is what was mentioned, but the other packages of tea from the same brand didn't have this same instruction. I was also surprised by the 2-3 minute steeping. I haven't encountered such a long steep time for an initial gongfu style preparation. The English directions don't specify how much tea to use, or what sort of vessel to steep in. So it's possible it could be for a larger teapot. Nevertheless, the curious directions helped me realize I don't often heat my vessel or cups before brewing. I know this is an important part of the tea-making process, and I'm glad to have the reminder.

I often won't even do an initial 'rinsing' of the leaves when I'm brewing in the gongfu method, mostly because I can't bring myself to waste any of the tea. The initial rinse allows the leaves to breathe and supposedly cleanse them. So perhaps I'm doing it all wrong, but it's just more tea for me to enjoy, so why discard it? If you brew in this method, what do you do? You can admit it if you drink that initial rinse...

In serving tea in the proper British way, the porcelain teapot is also warmed before adding the leaves. Again, it helps the pot retain the heat. When I'm at home using a large teapot, I usually forget to pre-warm the pot, of course. I can't say if the tea tastes better with a warm pot. Do you think it does? Since I'm not a big fan of extremely hot tea, I don't mind if mine cools a little bit faster that it should. In fact, when I prepare black tea with boiling water, I have to wait at least 5-7 minutes before I take a sip. I like my tea just the other side of 'hot'.

Even if I don't follow the rinsing instructions, they are a reminder to pay attention to the tea, and take in the whole process. Thinking about each step certainly helps me stay in the moment, and pay proper respect to the beautiful leaves (even if I skip a step). Also, I like calling the teaware 'tea-things'. For whatever reason, I keep imagining golem clutching a yixing teapot says 'my precioussss tea-thingssss'. Well, that's what they are, after all.

Giveaway: Win Tickets to the Southwest Tea Fest!

On February 27th tea vendors and enthusiasts from all over the South Western US will gather in Las Vegas for the Southwest Tea Festival. Taste teas, discover new tea pairings, and learn all about tea culture at this upcoming event. You can also attend various presentations to expand your tea knowledge. Visit the Southwest Tea Festival's website and Facebook page or more information on this great event!

Naomi Rosen of Joy's Teaspoon and Elyse Peterson of Tealet organized this event and graciously provided two tickets for me to give away to a lucky reader! The idea of meeting tea people in the warm Las Vegas sunshine sounds amazing. Good luck to everyone, I know you'll have a great time at the event.

Check out the rafflecopter details below to enter.



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