Korean Green Teas

[Thu'umhammer]

I've started getting into tea lately, and kicked this off by visiting my local David's Tea. I've always loved green tea, so I sampled a number of them, and found out that Korean Sejak is my favourite of the bunch. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for other Korean green teas, as this appears to be the style of green tea I prefer best.

 

[Kazeryu]

I'm not certain how many of us drink korean tea, but some of the older hands might check in later.

 

[StillShaving]

Your post got me to thinking, isn't Korea a little far north to grow tea? After a little searching it appears it does produce tea, but probably not in much quantity or varieties as China, Japan, Taiwan, etc. That is a speculative statement on my part, but I think it is worth taking a look at the many other varieties of green teas from other parts of the world as well.

The Korean Tea Wikipedia entry mentions that tea in Korean also refers to herbal and plant infusions besides "Camellia sinensis ", though the same could be said everywhere, the sheer list of alternative teas listed there implies that many Koreans are drinking something other than green tea.

Surely there must be more, but this article about Jirisan Mountain Sejak states there are 3 famous tea gardens:

There are three famous tea gardens in Korea where the best quality green teas are produced. The gardens are located in Boseong, Hwagae, and Jeju. The gardens in Boseong and Jeju are large and usually produce industrialized green teas. This tea from the Hwagae is cultivated on privately owned tea gardens located on the southern slopes of Jirisan Mountain, the most remote area from civilization in Korea, and are handmade, therefore producing more delicate teas which are of course, more expensive. Instead of the large breath taking plantations, the tea gardens of Hwagae are smaller in size and the tea trees lay closer to the ground and grow naturally, and are therefore also called "wild green tea."