APCC Tea Experience: Korea

Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) offers a Tea Experience on the first Saturday of each month. It's an opportunity to discover and learn more about the teas, the culture, and the traditions of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

On March 7th, we were treated to Korean tea ceremony performed by Jung Hee Park with calligraphy by Song Ja Park.

Mrs. Park used a tea bowl and teapot that were more than 100 years old.  The larger tea cups were approximately 90 years old and modern tea cups like those we were drank from are smaller in size.

We were introduced to a rare tea collected from wild plants grown on a plantation on Jiri Mountain (Jirisan) in South Korea. The tea, which is medicinal, is plucked before March and believed to prevent health problems throughout the year. The leaves are eaten as a salad after they have been used to make tea, so nothing is wasted. 

I am working on a complete translation of the tea name. Until then, we were told that it means "snow covered field with 100 flowers."

The tea has a delicious flavor similar to toasted rice and was served with food, including a beautiful handmade sweet made from sweet rice flour and decorated with an edible flower from the azalea family.

While we were enjoying the tea, Mrs. Park presented each of the attendees with calligraphy that means "Entering Spring will give you good luck." New Year calligraphy is said to bring good luck when posted near the entrance to your home and that is right where mine now resides.

Many thanks to Mrs. Jung Hee Park and Mrs. Song Ja Park for your beautiful presentation and to APCC for hosting the event!