TeaBuy Korea 2019

Morning Crane Tea's

TeaBuyTM Korea 2019

Morning Crane Tea is proud to offer this selection of some amazing teas by exceptional producers. In this selection you will find both Jeong-cha and Tteokeum-cha style green teas, a wonderful variety of balhyochas including hwangcha and hongcha as well as Korean ttokcha. We will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have about our teas and their producers. We do not post precise brewing suggestions beyond this. Keep your green tea brewing temperatures low between 140F - 60C and 159F - 70C. Keep those brewing times quick with second infusion much quicker. That said, these teas are all from deep-rooted organically grown leaves and can take the heat. While I will no longer make my brewing suggestions, I encourage you to send me your brewing suggestions and comments on our teas.  Thanks for being a member of the Morning Crane Tea Family.

Cooperative Tea

Dong Cheon Tea

Ha Il-Nam

Dong Cheon Tea

 (Jeongcha Style Green)

Dong Cheon green teas are different from all our other green tea offerings. These teas are produced Jeongcha Style i.e. first plunged into boiling water before pan-roasting.  Dong Cheon Tea is the first company whose teas I offered. It is the choice tea company of some of the Buddhist temples near Seoul and highly respected by Korean tea masters who have told me I made a wise choice. This is hand-plucked and organically grown tea from deep rooted bushes. A German client wrote a great email about this tea company. In it he said that he had tried many Korean teas but Dong Cheon Teas simply have more "life".

Woojeon                  50g               $43.00

*Muwi Sejak             50g               $27.50*

Buy two for $50.00

Sejak                        50g               $22.00

Jungjak                    50g               $16.50

Daejak                     50g               $11.00

Yipcha                     50g                 $6.00

Nong Johap

Tea Union of Jangguncha

Gimhae, Korea

Chung Jong Woo

Jangguncha Yeong

(Highest Rank Tea)

There is an ancient legend that a princess from India sailed to Korea and married the King of Gaya. The year was 42. With her, among other things, were tea bushes that were planted in the mountains near Gimhae. In my tea travels we have met many tea masters. At a special tea ceremony in Daegu not far from Gimhae I asked if the tea bushes in Daegu were the same as those used in Gimhae. The answer was, “No, the tea bushes used in Gimhae come from India. We use the same tea bushes that they use in Hadong." While I can’t say for certain that the tea bushes used by Jangguncha Dawan are actually from India, I can say that some tea masters believe they are.

Their balhyocha is one of my favorites. Their teas sell very quickly in Korea but they reserve a few bags for us. Will you claim yours? 

The story of the Princess from India is readily available on the web.  Is it true? I'll let you decide.

Tteokeumcha (Green)

Tteokeumcha             30g          $44.00

Balhyocha (Oxidized)

JD Balhyocha            30g          $33.00

 

Artisan Tea Producers

Jahacha Dawan

(Violet Sunset Tea)

Jeong Jae Yeon

Jahacha Dawan

(Violet Sunset Tea)

(ban balhyocha - hwangcha - Korean yellow tea.
or is it a wan-jeon balhyocha a hongcha? Korean red tea?)

This is truly “monk discovered” tea. A monk told our friend Shin In-Suk the wife of the teaware master Park Jong Il and she told me. We are the original Western source for this amazing balhyocha and may still be the only Western source. 

Jeong Jae Yeon makes only this one tea. This delicious balhyocha is made like her grandmother made it.  Halmoni Jeong told me that the monks visit her often. She begins quite early, as soon as the leaves begin to appear with woojeon leaves and continues through Jungjak leaves.  It doesn't seem to matter, as they are all delicious.  Jeong Jae Yeon's Halmonicha or "grandmother tea" has become the most posted about Korean balhyocha on the Internet for good reason. This is truly a grandmother's tea and a great example of authentic traditional Korean balhyocha - delicious.

Balhyocha (Oxidized)

Note: This Year’s Price Reduction

*Halmonicha           40g               $17.00*

Buy 2 for $32.00

Halmonicha         300g             $100.00

Halmonicha is bulk packed in a 300+g bags.

The actual weight is approximately between 325g and 365g

Dosim Dawan

Oh Si-Young and son Oh Jae Hong

Dosim Dawan

Tteokeum-cha (green) and 

Wan Jeon Balhyocha - hongcha- red tea

Dosim Dawan can not only boast about their delicious teas but also boast that they own some of the oldest most deep rooted tea bushes in Korea including the 1000 year old millennium tea tree. Korean tea connoisseurs believe these older bushes provide the most tender and flavorful buds and their deep roots encourage the development of the most cha-qi. I recently received several emails thanking me for their So-ip-cha. Don’t ignore their really wonderful green teas that have also received great reviews.  Dosim Dawan is a tea tour favorite stop. 

Tteokeumcha (Green)

Sejak                       50g               $28.60

Jungjak                   50g               $19.80

Balhyocha (Oxidized)

*So-ip-cha                50g               $28.60*

So-ip = Small Leaf 

Buy 2 for $52.00

Dae-ip-cha             50g                $15.00

Dae-ip = Large Leaf

Yejeon Dawan

Kim Yu Ja and son Jeon Ju Hyun

Yejeon Dawan

When we arrived at Yejeon Dawan, on one of our tea tours, a couple of our guests, who were tea connoisseurs from Australia, suddenly exclaimed, "This is the one! This is the one!" while hugging each other. Then they explained. They had been to Korea a few years earlier and had visited the Hadong Tea Festival. The rows of tea producers are long and many so they walked up and down the many rows tasting all of the teas. Then they came to Yejeon Dawan and decided this was truly the best.  However when they returned home the information on Yejeon had been lost. To this tea couple and to many on our tea tours, this is truly a "stand out from the crowd tea producer."

  

Tteokeumcha (Green)

Woojeon                 40g               $49.00

Sejak                       40g               $24.00

Balhyocha (Oxidized)

wan jeon balhyocha - hongcha - Korean red tea

Junggan-ipcha        40g               $22.00

juggan-ip = Medium Leaf

SOA Dawan

Kim Se Jin

SOA Dawan

There are many artisan tea producer in Boseong and some of the most famous and romantic tea fields are found there.  But we look for more than beautiful bushes and international advertising. After some search, we selected SOA to be our one Boseong representatives. Their teas are excellent. When the famous Korean TV Chef Judy Joo's producers contacted me to help find a Korean tea producer in Boseong for her series "Korean Food Made Simple" I recommended Kim Se Jin.  He knows his teas intimately and is certified organic internationally.

I once gave a bag of SOA Gukwoo to a knowledgeable Korean friend who exclaimed on receiving it, "This is the best tea made in Korea! How did you know?"

Tteokeumcha (Green) 

Woojeon                40g               $30.80

*Gukwoo                 40g               $24.20*

 Buy two for $45.00

Plucked April 20

Sejak                      40g               $19.80

Jungjak                  40g               $13.20

 Balhyocha (Oxidized)

ban balhyocha - hwangcha- Korean yellow tea

Balhyocha SD       40g               $19.80

Butdangol Dawan

Kim Jong Yeol

Butdangol Dawan

(Forever Existing Temple Tea)

To learn more about Master Kim click here.

Did you click that link? You should! Master Kim is one of the most acclaimed tea producers in Korea. I don’t create posts on many producers. Last year a noted Korea tea connoisseur contacted me personally to say that Kim Jong Yeol's Butdangol Woojeon was the best he has ever had, and that is saying a lot. While I obviously have not tried his Woojeon this year, the early spring in Korea is similar to last year when Master Kim said he produced his finest teas. The teas produced by Kim Jong Yeol truly live up to their outstanding reputation.

Mr. Lee, my Korean tea partner, contacts Master Kim often just to discuss tea.  I have not yet priced the woojeon as the price may vary depending on the quality. I actually sold his Woojeon last year below my price thus the POR on that tea. 
Note: In 2019 Master Kim Jong Yeol was awarded the "Best Tteokeumcha" award at the Hadong Tea Festival. 

Tteokeumcha (Green)

1. Butdangol Woojeon        50g     $ POR

Butdangol = A Place for Buddha

Plucked: April 15 – 20

2. Chungiljem Sejak           50g     $38.00

Chungiljem = Above the Crowd

Plucked: April 25 – 30

3. Koom                                 50g     $31.00

Koom = Dream

Plucked: May 1 – 6 a later Sejak

Balhyocha (Oxidized)

wan jeon balhyocha - hongcha - Korean red tea

1. Sebyukhangki                        50g     $38.00

Sebyukhangki = The Fragrance of Dawn

Plucked: April 25^th - May 5th

2. Hongiljeom (a hongcha)       50g     $31.00

Hongiljeom = Excellence in the Crowd

Plucked: May 5^th - May 15th

 (Previously named Buttea)

3. Noeulhangki ( a hwangcha)  50g     $31.00

Noeulhangki = The Scent of Sunset

Plucked: May 6^th - May 25th

Note: This is the one producer who gives me his precise plucking dates. Balhyocha producers prefer various leaves for a variety of reasons. An early or later pluck has no bearing on the tea quality but it does influence the flavor. That is why plucking dates are seldom used with balhyocha teas. The above plucking dates are from 2017. 

Temple Tea

Daeheungsa

Wol Woo

Daeheungsa

Gangjin, Korea

This is the temple that was the home of the famous ChoUi Korea's great historic Tea Master.  The tea comes from large older tea bushes is hand plucked from these deep-rooted bushes and hand made in the tteokeumcha or buchocha (roasted) traditional manner. When we visit Daeheungsa on our tea tours we hike up the mountain to Cho Ui's hermitage Ilchi-am where some of his famous poems were written and where the same fresh spring water that Cho-Ui used to make his famous teas still runs. Their teas sell fast but they reserve a few bags especially for our clients. Claim yours and you will not be disappointed.

  

Tteokeumcha (Green)

 Special Tteokeumcha             50g           $58.00 

Special Tteokeumcha             25g           $30.00

Discovering Ddeokcha

You will notice we changed the Anglicization of Tteokcha to Ddeokcha

Very Special Offer:

You may have noticed from past offerings that ddeokcha is priced higher than some of our other teas. Typically the price has been $50.00 or $60.00 for 10 pieces. With packaging that price can go much higher. That is why we have always offered ddeokcha at no profit. Still very few of our clients have tried it. 

In an attempt to bring more of our clients to ddeokcha, we are offering ddeokcha in a very different way. We now have 4 really wonderful producers from whom we are obtaining ddeokcha. Rather than offering ddeokcha from all of them in a competitive manner, we decided to offer a sampling of ddeokcha from all 4 producers.

 The offer is 2 pieces from each producer or 8 pieces of ddeokcha for $30.00, rather than the normal $50.00 or $60.00 that they normally charge for 10 pieces. This offer is made possible because one of the producers is giving us a small discount and because two of the pieces are just 4.5g each as opposed to the normal 7-8g each.

You may know that ddeokcha has been produced in Korea since the 3 Kingdoms Period and that a number of Korean tea groups continue to make it as a group just as they did throughout history.

Discovering Ddeokcha may be one of the most interesting Korean tea adventures, and that adventure can become much deeper and adventuresome than you might imagine.  I'll be creating a special post on ddeokcha on MorningEarthKorea.com under Tea.

Our TeaTour Korea tours have always been great adventures. On them we have visited many artisan tea producers, picked and making green tea and balhyocha and also visited many teaware masters. We have also made ddeokcha. We go far beyond watching someone pick tea leaves and tasting their teas. Should we offer a TeaTour Korea again? (Add at message to your order.)

Did you know that ddeokcha can be dried and re-brewed several times? Did you know that ddeokcha is made in many forms? Did you know that brewing ddeokcha can be either simple or complex depending on your taste desires? Did you know that ddeokcha gets better with age and that the price for each piece goes up each year as it ages?

We hope that those taking advantage of this special offer will provide us unbiased feedback on the various ddeokcha samples so that we can create a Ddeokcha Dialogue, share your personal tips on brewing and other experiences with this great tea - ddeokcha.

Those who have tried ddeokcha have raved about it. Yes, it is a special tea in that it can take a little or a lot more preparation time than loose-leaf tea, but we think it is worth it. This rare Korean tea ddeokcha would be a great addition to one of your tea tasting events with friends or tea clients.

If you do the math you will know that we must reach clients in groups of 5 to simply break even. So this offer is simply and purely educational. We hope you join us in Discovering Ddeokcha. 

     

All prices are plus shipping. 

To Order Click HERE

Note: Typically, clients order their teas and receive a preliminary invoice. We will not know full shipping costs until most of our clients have ordered. This means we do not add shipping costs until later. It also means that you can add to your order at anytime.

We have been trying to anticipate the exact shipping costs from Korea so that we can charge you up front.  However, shipping costs have ranged from about .02¢ per g to .08¢ per g.  Should I charge the .08¢?

Important Information:

Note: When purchasing teas in our TeaBuy Korea you are placing a special order.  Since we are not a regular tea company, we cannot return funds once the teas have been purchased from the producer. If there is a shipping error and the teas are returned to me, I will pay for the return shipment to you but I cannot refund your purchase or shipment money. Placing your order is your acknowledgement that you understand this policy. Thanks for understanding.

You may also want to read the post An Introduction to TeaBuy Korea 2019 it contains considerable information about picking dates and our company.  Click HERE to go there. 

When we offer TeaBuy Korea, it is a Group Buy. That means that in some cases (not all) the producer offers us a small discount on their normal tea prices. Our clients order their teas at different times. So a customer ordering in early April, just after we announce our TeaBuy, must wait much longer than someone who orders in early June. The risk is that the early June clients may discover the tea he or she selects are sold out. We ship most teas from Korea to me in the same box where I must repack them to send to you. That saves you considerably on shipping costs. However, depending on where you live we can send teas directly to you from Korea. We have sold our teas to clients in 25 different countries. However, one or two or even a few different clients from each country does not mean we have a financially strong enterprise.

Those of you returning to TeaBuy Korea will note that some of our tea prices have increased slightly from two years ago. Morning Crane Tea is a tea service. It has never been a profitable business. In fact it simply grew out of a personal need to educate the Western world about quality Korean tea and Korean tea ware. The best Korean teas were not available for tasting, so I had to offer them. During the 13 years I have been offering these teas there has never been a profit to speak of.  Expenditures have increased for the advertising part of Morning Crane Tea. As an example, my educational web presence costs surpasses by far any profit I make from our TeaBuy and Teaware sales.

In spite of this, I continue to offer some teas at my cost and decided this year to select a few additional teas and reduced their price when two or more bags of the same tea are purchased. In making the selection for the discounted teas I choose only strong sellers or teas I think you should experience. Look for the red *. If we continue our work, each year that selection will change. 

That said, we are launching a new Morning Crane Tea website so I am not planning on stopping this service. That decision is really up to you and the other members of the Morning Crane Tea Family.

A dozen years ago there was little talk about Korean teas. Few Korean teas were available on the Western market.  While Morning Crane Tea may have had a little to do with the current interest in Korean teas, few tea shops or wholesale tea outlets buy from me. In many cases they went to Korean producers based largely on price. I don't want to imply that other Korean teas are bad but we have made a concerted effort over years of research to bring you some of the best teas made in Korea at the most reasonable prices. We are able to access teas from nearly every tea company in Korea. We are looking for more tea shops and wholesale tea suppliers so please send them our way.  Thank you for your continuing support and trust.

When you order a Morning Crane Tea or tea ware, you become a member of the Morning Crane Tea Family.