Cheong Tae Jeon

Recommended for an eye opening experience of Korean aged tea with ever-changing complex flavors over 7+ infusions

Did you know that the tradition of making Cheong Tae Jeon (translated "Blue Moss Coin"; also known as tteok cha, doncha) disappeared after the Korean War in the 1950s?

The history of Cheong Tae Jeon dates back to the era of Unified Silla (668-935) when Borimsa Temple, one of the oldest Korean temples in Jangheung, was founded. Monks and the residents around the temples used leaves from surrounding wild tea trees to make Cheong Tae Jeon. However, when such tradition faded away over the years, Ms. Kim helped restore the practice based on historical records and numerous trial and error as she began to frequent Borimsa over 20 years ago.

Luckily for you, we are bringing this extremely rare Korean aged tea that is 100% handcrafted by Ms. Kim herself so that you can taste the recreated Cheong Tae Jeon from over 1000 years ago!

• Ms. Kim handpicks leaves from wild tea trees located in a bamboo forest in Jangheung before the first rain of the spring season. The trees that grow in the shades of bamboo trees are the most prized as they have high umami flavors and low astringency levels.
• After withering the leaves in the sun, she steams them in a traditional cauldron called gamasot and pounds them into small pieces in a traditional Korean mortar and pestle called jeolgu. Once she shapes the pounded leaves into a circular coin shape, they are sun-dried on a bamboo basket while Ms. Kim closely monitors and flips them to ensure both sides dry at the same rate. Dried tea discs are thread and hung to be aged for at 6-12+ months to develop a depth of flavor and aroma. This is the most traditional and labor intensive way of making Cheong Tae Jeon, so the quantity produced per year is very limited.
• Resulting tea draws characteristics from mid-aged raw pu-erh tea, white tea (specifically white peony), and black tea. You can enjoy the taste of peony, strawberry jam, and mango from the dry leaves, nuts and barley from the wet leaves, and even malty yet vegetal notes in the brewed tea.
• Aged and naturally fermented for 5+ years, this Cheong Tae Jeon has exceptionally high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties from gallic acid and low caffeine content.
• Gongfu brewing is ideal for more in-depth flavor analysis over multiple brews. These tea cakes take some time to open up so expect to brew 6-10 infusions.
• Cheong Tae Jeon received various awards, such as gold medals from Japanese international green tea competitions (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2019) and a title of Korean Agricultural Asset (2018).

As part of this tea experience, you will also receive

• a short digital magazine that explains the history, processing, brewing, and flavor profile of this tea in depth
• a guided tea tasting video that walks through the tasting process of this tea

Tasting Notes:  peony, strawberry jam, cut hay, hazelnut

Terroir  Jangheung, South Jeolla
Elevation  130 ft
Vintage  Spring 2018
Aging Potential  20+ years

Ingredients  Wild Tree Dark Tea

Packaging  contains 3 pieces of 10g compressed tea cakes. 1.1oz total.

1oz / 28g yields 50 cups