In
an attempt to delve further in to the historic culture of Korea, I
spent the weekend at a tea festival. Being an avid fan of tea I was
excited to attend, knowing that this was more than just free samples
of store bought teas. The festival celebrates the rich and storied
past the roll tea has played on the Korean peninsula, mainly with
Buddhist monks, for over 2,000 years. There was food, music,
historic art on display, and lessons in hosting and serving tea. Of
course there were also gorgeously hand-crafted serving cups, kettles,
teapots, serving boards, spoons, and teacups. Furthermore, I almost
certainly consumed a gallon of hand-picked and home-made tea samples
over the course of the weekend. The loose leaf teas covered the
entire flavor spectrum ranging from persimmons, mulberries, sweet
pumpkin, and wild flowers to dandelions, lotuses, buckwheat, ginseng,
and yams*. What follows is a photographic tour of the 7th
annual Busan Tea Festival.
Upon
arriving at the festival, which was both indoors and outdoors at the
Busan Cultural Center, I think it’s fair to say that I was slightly conspicuous. This, in turn, made me the local celebrity
because the festival promoters desired photographs of the foreigner
not only attending but drinking their teas. I eventually made my way
to listen to a musician playing an acoustic guitar as well as a
traditional Korean orchestra. I then followed a small group of
elderly Koreans into one of the exhibition halls to look at the ink
wash paintings and ceramic sculptures. I continued trailing behind as we entered a beautiful dining hall set with tables and
chairs. I looked out amazed at what was before me and was suddenly shooed out by one of the event’s organizers! As I’d come to find
out, that was an official tea tasting ceremony hosted by the monks
and was by invitation only…I guess my pseudo-celebrity status only
worked outside.
The origin of the name 'Tea Candle'...it was actually used to heat the water for tea.
The
highlight of the festival was without a doubt, the impromptu lesson in tea
drinking etiquette I received from a stern yet slightly humorous monk. As I
walked through his tent admiring his tea sets, he firmly grabbed my
arm. His eyes explored my tattoos followed by his gestures of
painting in the air, letting me know that he was an artist too and
the items before me were his work. He was a master craftsman -
hand making, firing, painting, and glazing an assortment of tea sets
and well as having his own collection of various teas. As soon as I
picked up a cup to sample his tea I apparently offended him. I could
easily read the disgust on his face and he motioned for me to set my
cup back down. I was shown not only suitable hand placement but
proper finger placement as well. Every position from your posture to
your fingertips is a very precise, calculated movement. After having
my hands and arms slapped as well as picking up and setting down my
tea cup repeatedly, I finally seemed to please him despite my former
heathenistic ways. We enjoyed a cup of tea and it was then that I
realized that he and I were in the most engaging conversation that I
have had with a Korean…and a single word wasn’t spoken.
As
the festival came to a close, I was left overlooking the city of
Busan and the United Nations Memorial Cemetery from high upon a
mountainside on a balcony at the Cultural Center. The sun set and
the moon rose and I’m sure I’ll return in the near future to
attend another event here.
*Interesting
note, Louisiana is renowned for its sweet potatoes which, come to
find out, are actually yams. And yes, there is a difference
between the two even though I've heard from most Louisianians that
they're the same. They are not. I've purchase actual
sweet potatoes here in Korea and they appear similar on the outside
but have white flesh and a different yet still sweet taste.
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