Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mcloo7]

I'm talking about non brand name loose leaf green tea distinguished by its variety, usually they would come in aluminum foil zip lock bags or something. Is tea like this easy to find in Korea? If it is, and it's considered expensive, about how much does it cost?

[radcon]

I am by no means one of those naturepathic healthy food nazis, but I have read some very scary articles on Chinese green tea regarding its extremely high levels of very nasty carcinogens. Stick with Japanese green tea.

[mcloo7]

I've been drinking it for years, but mainly organic. Are there any Japanese loose leaf green teas that you know of, in Korea?

[Jonephant]

The tea you want is available from specialist shops but they are usually in obscure locations. Insadong has what you want and they will let you taste before you buy but the mark ups are unreasonable. I lived in China for years and regularly bought many types of tea. I visit Hangzhou every year and buy Longjing direct from the village. I have a few extra packets if you are really stuck.

[mcloo7]

Haha, thanks, that's nice of you, but it will be at least a few months before I'm in Korea. So you're saying the only way to get that tea at a fair price is to go to China? Do you know of any ways to order tea from China and get it shipped?

[mcloo7]

In fact, I haven't even decided for sure that I'm going to Korea instead of China. The tea situation could be a factor.

[byrddogs]

[Jonephant]

[nicwr2002]

I bought some wonderful green tea in Boseong in Jeolla-namdo at the green tea farm there. I'm not sure if they distribute throughout Korean, but look or ask about green tea from the Boseong Green Tea Park. They harvest the leaves at different times of the year and have a range of different quality.

[Rutherford]

I've ordered tea here from other countries including Taiwan, China, and Japan.

Yunnan sourcing has reasonable prices and ships to Korea. I bought some nice yunnan red teas from them.

Korea produces good green tea in Hadong, Boseong, and Jeju. It's not cheap. I get good Sejak (second flush) for usually 30,000 to 50,000 for 100 grams. Not cheap but it's good and it's also nice to visit the farms and tea festivals and pick some up.

[mnjetter]

Go to Osulloc in Insadong. You can't miss it. They are a huge store right in the middle of the main tourist drag of Insadong, and they are always giving away free samples of their signature green tea. There are a lot of other teas too, and you can get it in loose, bag, or powdered form. I have been living off this stuff for months.

The price isn't bad either. It's 15k for a bag, but they always have a 2+1 deal going, so as long as you buy three at a time, it's 10k each (for a 40g bag).

[mcloo7]

[mcloo7]

[Adventurer]

[Jonephant]