According to Korea’s traditional seasonal calendar, December 7th was Daeseol, the day of the heaviest snowfall of the year. What do you crave the most on a cold and snowy day as this?

How about a cup of hot fragrant tea? Let the boiling water cool down a bit and then pour the water into a cup with tea leaves. Soon the warmth and subtle fragrance of the tea spreads throughout the room and your body, relieving you of all the tension and fatigue. What better place to appreciate and learn about a wide array of teas and tea cultures from around the world than the Beautiful Tea Museum in traditional Insa-dong in Seoul. So let’s visit this charming museum to warm our body and soul.

The Beautiful Tea Museum is located near Anguk Station of Subway Line 3. Leave through exit 6 and walk about five minutes before entering a small alley to your right. Then you will see a traditional Korean house with a plaque engraved with the name “Beautiful Tea Museum.” This renovated Korean hanok has a museum, a gallery, a tea shop, and a café inside. Here’s Ms. Ahn Song-i of the tea museum.

The Beautiful Tea Museum is a multi-purpose venue devoted to tea culture. The tea shop has more than 100 different kinds of tea and tea brewing utensils. In the gallery there are displays of tea pots and cups created by artisans. The tea café is a perfect place to enjoy a cup of tea.

A granite stairway takes you inside the tea museum.

As soon as you enter the museum, you are greeted by the soft tones of Korean traditional music and the subtle aroma of tea. The main gate and the floor fashioned in the traditional Korean style add warmth and elegance to the museum’s appearance. Here’s Ms. Ahn Song-I again.

This is a remodeled hanok building. The first thing you see as you enter the Tea Museum is the ancient-looking gate. You pass through the gate to enter the hanok, where all the pillars are made of wood. The soft beige color scheme of the place adds comfort and warmth to the ambience. There is even a tea tree in the middle of the museum.

On one side of the hall a tall blue display stand shows off numerous steel cans and glass jars filled with various fermenting tea leaves. Beyond the tea display stand is the tea gallery where a selection of traditional tea brewing utensils, tea pots and cups are in display.

The history of tea, more specifically tea cups, in Korea dates back more than 1,000 years to the Shilla Kingdom era. The historical chronicle from that era tells us that tea of that period was not in the leaf form like today, but in the powder form. So people drank tea not from tea cups, but from bowls. It was only in the 17th century that people began to brew tea leaves using tea pots and cups. This is the celadon tea bowl from the Goryeo period. Celadon was popular in Goryeo and people used to grind tea leaves in the bowl and pour hot water over it to drink tea. We have many tea-related relics here, some from China and some from Tiber. Our exhibits of old tea cups and bowls are from the Goryeo period and on.

At the Tea Museum tea sommeliers teach visitors how to enjoy tea. One special appeal of the Tea Museum is that visitors can drink tea from the tea sets on display at the gallery.

Boseong and Hadong in Jeolla Province are the most well-known tea-growing regions in Korea. Today the museum is introducing hwangcha from Jeju Island. Hwangcha is a traditional fermented tea variety of Korea. The name hwangcha, meaning yellow tea, is given because the tea leaves turn yellow during the drying process. Hwangcha is supposedly good for treating a cold and warming up the body.

The basic utensils needed in tea brewing include a kettle for boiling water, dagwan or a separate pot for brewing tea, dajan or a tea cup, a saucer for the cup, a saucer for the lid, a container to dispose of water or tea leaves, a separate vessel for cooling down water or dividing the tea, and a strainer. The water comes to a boil while the sommelier explains about all the equipment needed for brewing tea.

Now the sommelier pours the hot water into the dagwan and let the tea leaves steep in the water.

While the tea leaves are being steeped in the water, the tea cups are warmed up. Pouring warm tea into a cold cup diminishes the flavor of the tea and mars the whole experience of tea drinking. Now it’s time to enjoy a perfectly made cup of hwangcha.

Now I will pour tea. The color is so pretty. It’s not just yellow, but a combination of mustard yellow and pure yellow. That’s why it’s called hwangcha. The cup is white porcelain, which brings out the color of the tea. White porcelain cup is better when drinking tea.

You don’t just drink tea right after pouring it in the cup. If you really want to savor the experience, you have to use all your senses.

First, you have to appreciate all the flavors by holding the tea in your mouth. When the weather turns cold in winter, a cup of tea can warm up your whole body, lift your spirit and chase away stress and fatigue.

- The aroma is not overwhelming, but clean and subtle. The flavor is, well, like green tea, but has a cleaner aftertaste than green tea. Sometimes green tea is bitter, but this tea goes down very smoothly. The wind outside is chilly, but this makes me feel nice and warm inside.

The Beautiful Tea Museum has some 110 different tea varieties in display, including Korean traditional teas like mulberry tea, persimmon leaf tea, and lotus tea, as well as teas from China and Tibet. Visitors can view and purchase these various teas, and even taste them at the tea café. Museum employee Ahn Song-i says patrons prefer different tea varieties by season.

People tend to prefer hot teas during the cold winter season. Korea’s traditional fermented tea, hwangcha, is known to warm up the body. Jujube tea is also one of the winter favorites. Spring is when green tea is harvested. So people like to feel refreshed in spring with the newly harvested tea. In summer tea-based beverages or treats are more popular than hot teas. Our most popular menus include shaved green tea ice, powdered green tea latte, and shaved black tea ice.

In winter the most sought-after tea varieties are those that supposed chase away a cold and the flu like ginger tea, citron tea and jujube tea, and the body-warming type like mugwort tea.

In the tea café, tea is served not by itself, but always accompanied by delectable Korean rice cake and cookies that go well with that specific type of tea.

The green tea rice cake and cookies are made at the museum. Here’s Kim Hyeon-hee in charge of the kitchen.

We bake our own cookies. These green cookies are baked with powdered green tea, which is supposedly good for your health. The rice cake is also made on the premise. It’s our complimentary treat for café patrons, because just drinking tea seems to lack something. People need something to much on, so why not give them some cookies and rice cakes?

When you feel that between-meals hunger, a big cup of healthful milk tea with green tea powder and pumpkin will tide you over.

Pumpkin is used to make one of our menu items, milk tea with green tea powder and pumpkin. Steamed sweet pumpkin is mashed and combined with milk and powdered green tea to make a substantial drink that can also substitute as a simple, light meal. It’s also very pretty in color. The green of the green tea powder is mixed with the yellow of the pumpkin to create that pretty light green hue. This tea beverage is tasty, hearty, and healthy, which is why people ask for it a lot in the winter. It’s thicker than other brewed teas, so it holds the warmth longer and fills you up quickly.

One of the museum’s features is that people can enjoy tea outdoors even in winter. The patio area is covered in glass like a greenhouse. Seats are placed under the U-shaped glass ceiling, allowing people to look up the sky. Although it’s outdoors, the café is warm and cozy like indoors and the winter sunlight shining through the glass is delightful.

- We were just passing by here and saw the sign. We came in to enjoy tea and it’s so nice in here. The glass roof allows the sunlight in, making the place very warm and nice.
- The outside is cold, but it’s so warm here. The ambience of the place is really nice. I’m glad I came in.
- It’s my first time here. The whole place, both inside and outside, looks so classy. It’s cozy and nice with all the sunlight.
- It feels like home. Just like our own home, it’s comfortable, homey, and cheerful. I feel warm all over.

The Beautiful Tea Museum is not just to see and drink teas, but a place to experience the tea cultures of both the East and the West in a traditional Korean house. That is one of the reasons why it has become a favorite destination of foreign tourists.

I like the atmosphere of a quiet and peaceful old hanok. It’s also very refined. The quince tea is sweet, delicious, and flavorful. I think it will be good for sore throat and cough.

A relaxing afternoon tea at the charming traditional tea museum is certain to give you a respite from the hectic modern life.