[FOOD COURT] Learn the art of a proper brew at these Seoul teahouses

Korea is known for having a coffee shop on every corner and five more on every street, but not everybody is looking for a cup of joe. Tea houses are making e a come back as caffeine-conscious city dwellers look for something different.

The inside of Magpie and Tiger in Gangnam District where one can buy a package of tea [LEE SUN-MIN]

Korea is known for having a coffee shop on every corner and five more on every street, but not everybody is looking for a cup of joe. Tea houses, once an important part of Korean culture, are making a come back as caffeine-conscious city dwellers look for something different.

Some modern teahouses are more casual affairs, offering individual cups of tea, just like a coffee shop. Others take visitors only by reservation and offer a more extensive tea experience for at least an hour. Those extensive tea courses offer drinkers different types of teas to help them find something that fits their preference. Others even offer savory food for those who want to pair tea with their lunch and dinner.

Wui Teahouse Wui Teahouse is a teahouse by day and Chinese restaurant and bar by night. Inspired by the tea culture widely enjoyed in Hong Kong, the teahouse and restaurant offers a variety of tea coming from all over the world with savory bites.

A set of tea cups and a pot available at Wui Teahouse in Yongsan District, central Seoul [WUI INSTAGRAM]

The classic combination of tea and dim sum for lunch many locals enjoy when traveling around Hong Kong is available here. For dinner, its barbecue dishes made with pork, chicken or quail are particularly popular. To some who want sweeter options, it also offers tea with milk and condensed milk. You can also choose to have tea mixed with coffee.

It is also possible to buy tea, teapots and cups at the restaurant.

The outside of the restaurant displays a black cab marked with Chinese letters to make the façade even more exotic for those who have longed to travel to Hong Kong during the pandemic.

@wui.yongsan 25 Hangangdae-ro 21-gil, Yongsan District

Cha Teul If what you're looking for is tea widely enjoyed in Korea, Cha Teul is the place to visit. Located in Bukchon Hanok Village, where many people go to look at Korean traditional houses, or hanok, the teahouse offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Cha Teul in hanok, a traditional Korean home, in Jongno District, central Seoul [LEE SUN-MIN]

Tea served at Cha Teul [LEE SUN-MIN]

It’s located inside a hanok with a garden at the center. Many of the seasonally popular teas are available, such as mogwa dolbae tea, made with quince and Korean pear, for colder months. Ssanghwa tea, made with a number of herbs and said to be good for curing a cold, is also available.

Savory bites like tteok (sticky rice cakes) and patjuk, or red bean porridge, are available to pair with the Korean tea.

There is almost always a wait, but visitors can sit down and look at the small garden to while away the time. Parties of five to eight can make reservations prior to their visit. Otherwise, it’s first-come, first-served.

@cha.teul 26 Bukchon-ro 11-na-gil, Jongno District

Tea E If learning more about tea from around the world and talking to a tea expert is what’s on your agenda, try visiting this small teahouse in Garosu-gil, southern Seoul.

Tea E has bar seating and takes reservations to offer a tea course that lasts for about three hours for those who want a more extensive tea experience, and a mini course for an hour. It offers different types of tea and explains the differences and how certain flavors are highlighted depends on how one brews tea leaves.

Inside Tea E in Garosu-gil, southern Seoul [LEE SUN-MIN]

When there’s no pre-reserved party, the teahouse also takes walk-ins and offers individual cups of teas and light bites.

Tea E also holds a variety of one-day classes on how to blend tea. Participants get to do it on their own during the class.

@tea_e_ 20 Gangnamdae-ro 162-gil, Gangnam District

Magpie and Tiger Magpie and Tiger started in Garosu-gil, Gangnam District, and recently expanded to Seongsu to open a second branch, which is more like a tea cafe. While its Garosu-gil branch has a long bar seat where tea classes are held to share more extensive knowledge on tea-making and tea-drinking by reservation only, the new Seongsu branch welcomes walk-ins looking for a cup to soothe their thirst.

The bar where visitors can take a more extensive tea course behind the layers of linens at Magpie and Tiger in southern Seoul [LEE SUN-MIN]

It has blended tea packages for those who want to take the experience home. Tea mats, teapots and cups are also available for sale.

To help those who have cried over broken cups in the past, the teahouse also offers a class that teaches a technique called kintsugi, which is repairing broken pieces of pottery, usually with gold.

@magpie.and.tiger 44 Nonhyun-ro 153-gil, Gangnam District 97 Seongsui-ro, Seongdong District

BY LEE SUN-MIN [lee.sunmin@joongang.co.kr]