SOUTH KOREA
TeaHaus offers the premium tea Seogwang Sencha from Seogwang Tea Garden, an up-and-coming tea-growing district that is located on volcanic Jeju Island, which lies off the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. Reviving traditional Korean tea culture, this garden is also the country’s largest tea producer.
Probably brought to Korea by Buddhist monks returning from China in the 500s or 600s, green tea was used in ceremonies by the Goryeo Dynasty (tenth through thirteen centuries)—and the country's unique tea culture developed alongside its exquisite pottery. Although tea consumption declined when Confucianism replaced Buddhism, by the twentieth century interest renewed and today tea is a popular beverage in the country. Most of the tea cultivation area—in the warmer, southern region—is still planted with native plants.