▲ Jeon Soo Chul, the owner of Jiyoo Myeongcha offers unlimited pu-er tea to visitors, many of whom are serious tea drinkers. Photos by Yun Seong Un

Tea might be an easily overlooked choice of beverage but in fact it reflects important political and cultural aspects of society. It’s been less than a century since people, regardless of their social positions, began to enjoy the availability of a large number of teas in Korea. Moreover, coffee has recently yielded some of its dominant share of peoples’ pastime to tea. There are more alternatives now, though coffee still takes up much of a café’s drink menu.

The days when tea was exclusively for the privileged classes of society are gone. Yet people take rather less advantage of all the different options that are now available. While the consumption of alcohol is an integral part of social activities in Korea, it seems that Chinese tea remains generally unknown. This is despite the fact that people are attracted to “well-being” foods, which in turn have sparked businesses like Korean traditional tea houses all over the country to cater to this market.

On Jeju Island, it is Jiyoo Myeongcha, a tea shop in Jeju City that serves the Chinese pu-er tea, which stands out from the rest.

If you visit this tea house expecting it to be like others in Korea — where parties occupy private or semi-private tables — Jiyoo Myeongcha might be a bewildering experience. You will see people sitting next to each other with just one man — with the title of pochasa, the tea equivalent of a barista — making and pouring tea behind a long bar-like table.

Another difference is that you don’t order the tea yourself. It is the owner and pochasa of Jiyoo Myeongcha, Jeon Soo Chul, who chooses from more than 30 pu-er teas to serve you depending on your physical and mental condition. This he ascertains when you walk through the door whether for the first time or as a regular customer.

You may also be surprised that he encourages people to continue drinking. You would be surprised again when you find people drinking there, sometimes for hours at a stretch and wonder what kind of tea can be drunk in such an endless fashion. Then again you may become aware that you are not different from them at all, that you can also drink with no limit.

The varieties of pu-er tea are served exclusively at Jiyoo Myeongcha. You can drink as much as you want for only 10,000 to 20,000 won, even for an all day session if you have the time. Many who come to Jiyoo Myeongcha come alone, concerned only with drinking a good pu-er tea. However, people of various backgrounds often build good friendships by drinking at the tea house, and a preference for pu-er tea has become a good starting place for friendship.

Indeed drinking tea together is a kind of mind-opening experience in and of itself.

▲ Photos by Yun Seong Un

▲ Photos by Yun Seong Un