Korea History of tea

darye, korean tea ceremony

the first historical record documenting offering of tea ancestral god describes rite in year 661 in tea offering made spirit of king suro, founder of geumgwan gaya kingdom (42–562). records goryeo dynasty (918–1392) show tea offerings made in buddhist temples spirits of revered monks.

during joseon dynasty (1392–1910), royal yi family , aristocracy used tea simple rites. day tea rite common daytime ceremony, whereas special tea rite reserved specific occasions. toward end of joseon dynasty, commoners joined trend , used tea ancestral rites, following chinese example based on zhu xi s text formalities of family.

stoneware common, ceramic more frequent, made in provincial kilns, porcelain rare, imperial porcelain dragons rarest. earliest kinds of tea used in tea ceremonies heavily pressed cakes of black tea, equivalent of aged pu-erh tea still popular in china. however, importation of tea plants buddhist monks brought more delicate series of teas korea, , tea ceremony. green tea, jakseol(작설, 雀舌) or jungno(죽로, 竹露) , served. however, other teas such byeoksoryeong(벽소령, 碧宵嶺) cheonhachun(천하춘, 天下春), ujeon(우전, 雨前), okcheon(옥천, 玉泉), native chrysanthemum tea, persimmon leaf tea, or mugwort tea may served @ different times of year.