Korean tea

Korean teais a beverage consisting of boiled water infused withleaves(such as the tea plantCamellia sinensis),roots,flowers,fruits,grains,edible mushrooms, orseaweed. It may or may not contain tea leaves.
According to theRecord of Gaya, cited in theMemorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, the legendary queenHeo Hwang-ok, a princess of the State of "Ayuta" (theorized to beAyodhya, India), brought theCamellia sinensis(var.assamica)tea plantfromIndiatoKoreaand planted it on Baegwolsan, a mountain that borders the city ofChangwon.In practice, however,Labrador teaand fruit teas, such asmagnolia berry teaandgoji berry tea, were more widely used in theSamhanEra instead.
It is a widely held belief that the systematic planting of tea bushes began with the introduction of tea culture byBuddhist monkssome centuries later.Some of the earliest Buddhist temples in Korea, such asBulgapsa,Bulhoesa, andHwaeomsa, claim to be the birthplace of Korean tea culture.The import of Chinese tea products started during the reign ofQueen Seondeok of Silla(631‒647), when two types oftea bricks,jeoncha(전차;磚茶) anddancha(단차;團茶), were imported from theTang Empire.In 765, a Buddhist monk is said to have presented an offering of the tea toKing Gyeongdeokand theBuddha.Camellia sinensistea plants spread throughout the country in 828, whenKing Heungdeokreceived seeds from theTang Empireand sent them to be planted on theJirisanmountain.Tea was usually offered to the Buddha, as well as to the spirits of deceased ancestors.
Tea culture continued to prosper during theGoryeo Dynasty. Tea offering was a part of the biggest national ceremonies, such asYeondeunghoeandPalgwanhoe, and tea towns were formed around temples.During the reign of KingMyeongjong(1131‒1202),Seon-Buddhist manners of ceremony prevailed.Chŏng Mong-juand other scholars enjoyed tea poetry,dasi(다시;茶詩), and tea meetings,dahoe(다회;茶會).The state ofdaseonilchi(다선일치;茶禪一致; "tea andseonin accord") was eulogized.Xu Jing, a Song dynasty envoy who visited Goryeo in 1123, wrote in theGaoli tujingthat the people of Goryeo were avid tea drinkers and set out tea three times a day.Coinswere accepted at tea and wine shops (茶酒店).
During theJoseon Dynasty(1392–1910), Korean tea culture underwent secularization.Theroyal familyand aristocracy used tea for simple rites, a practice referred to asdarye(다례;茶禮, "tea rite"), which is often translated as "etiquette for tea".Towards the end of the Joseon Dynasty, commoners adopted the practice of using tea for ancestral rites.The wordcharye(차례;茶禮, "tea rite"), cognate todarye, now refers tojesa(ancestral rite).In the past, the two terms were synonymous, as ancestral rites often involved offerings of tea to the ancestors. Wedding ceremonies also included tea offerings. The practice of packing tea into small cakes, which lost popularity in China during the 14th century, continued in Korea until the 19th century.
In 1895,King Gojongof theKorean Empireusedcoffeefor the first time.In 1896, grocery stores began to havetea roomsas annexes, and the first moderntea housewas established in 1924.
The Korean Tea Ceremony, called Darye, embodies Confucian principles of harmony, respect, and gratitude. It occurs in a traditional Korean house, with participants wearing hanbok attire. Darye involves tea preparation, serving, and presentation. The host serves tea to guests in order of importance, using a ceramic teapot and small cups. It is believed that Darye fosters a peaceful ambiance for appreciating tea's beauty, meaningful conversations, and reflection on respect and gratitude.
Although tea from theCamellia sinensisplant is not as popular as coffee inSouth Korea– with the annual South Korean tea consumption at 0.16 kg (0.35 lb) per capita, compared to 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) for coffee– grain teas are served in many restaurants instead of water.Herbal and fruit teasare commonly served, both hot and cold.