Morning Crane Tea

Teatrekker Holds Korean Tea Sale

2012-01-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

Have you heard the news? To celebrate the Year of the Water Dragon, TeaTrekker has selected Dong Cheon Green Korean Tea to place on sale! Better yet for you Korean tea lovers, their sale prices are better than the great prices we were able to give you in December! I told you then it is a tricky business for a wholesale distributor like Morning Crane Tea to try to hold a 'retail' sale. So here is an even better opportunity for you to buy these great Korean teas.

TeaTrekker has both Sejak and Jungjak available and also has both 2010 and 2011 versions of these great teas. Buy them both and compare. Dong Cheon Tea has great master craftsman producers. Were they able to get the same great flavor in their Sejak and Jungjak after the terrible 2011 winter that destroyed so many tea bushes in Korea?*

Dong Chong Tea Leaves 2011

We admire the courage of Mary Lou and Robert Heiss. We believe they were the first in North America to offer Dong Cheon Teas to the public. Now they have selected these fine teas to celebrate the Year of The Water Dragon. I'm sure those who have tried Dong Cheon teas will be taking advantage of this TeaTrekker sale. We have heard from several tea connoisseurs that they enjoy these teas and that at least one of Dong Cheon's teas have become among their favorites. So if you have never tried these teas, here is your opportunity - don't pass it up.

Why are we at Morning Crane Tea so excited about the announcement of this tea sale from TeaTrekker? We began our tea adventure in an attempt to make Korean tea and teaware more available to the public. Our primary goal was then and is now simply to spread the word about both Korean tea and teaware and to make them both more respected in the Western world.

So Morning Crane Tea congratulates TeaTrekker for this great tea sale and hopes that everyone who reads this blog buys some Dong Cheon tea from TeaTrekker.

We at Morning Crane Tea also wish you all a Happy Year of the Water Dragon.

PS: If your looking for a cup to go along with that tea click here.

*In my opinion, Dong Cheon's 2011 teas are just as good as 2010. But you should be the judge.

The Park Jong Il Teacup Sale

2012-01-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

There is something compelling about tea that goes beyond the ordinary. Each morning I sit with a Korean teacup, small, no handle, subtle in color and form, fitting my hand and gently conveying the warmth of tea. It is most often filled with Korean green tea – picked early in the spring – warm to both the hand and heart. Those moments take me away from the blur of daily life to peace and clarity. For me, that is “tea”.

One of My Park Jong Il Morning Tea Cups

Often that cup is one made by Park Jong Il. When I drink from one of his cups, I am reminded of his studio that we watched being built from raw clay and trees hewn nearby. It reminds me of the view from his mountaintop home – down across the valley. The cup reminds me of the firing of his kiln and the wood fly ash touching the cup as it reaches its mature temperature. It reminds me of his wonderful family - his wife Shin In-Suk and daughter Park Seo-Ryeon. It must be very difficult living so far from a city. It must be fantastic living so far from a city.

Drinking from his cup also reminds me of a memorable Korean Tea ceremony held especially for one of our tours just outside his studio. It was wonderful witnessing the full range of Park Jong Il’s tea ware being used as they should be.

A Korean Tea Ceremony Using Park Jong Il's Teaware

It is for these reasons that Morning Crane Tea was formed. Simply to bring you a little closer to the wonderful tea ware artists like Park Jong Il and fine organic Korean teas to fill those special teapots and cups.

I hesitated posting any sale on this particular blog. This blog is an information blog, a place to introduce artists and sometimes a little tea. But, this blog also has more followers and more ‘hits’ than any of my other blogs with the possible exception of Dawan Chawan Chassabal - that will never see a sale. So in an attempt to make Morning Crane Tea more visible we are posting these two sales. The first on tea, the second on tea ware. In the future any sales will be on our Morning Crane Tea Ware blog that will get more interesting throughout the year and a new tea blog dedicated to the teas we offer. That blog will be coming after the spring tea harvest. We will have more teas to offer and by then our technical difficulties may be solved allowing us to work on our web sites again. Please publicly join our Tea Ware blog as we will introduce new tea ware artists there, each with a limited quantity sale. Bear in mind we are primarily a wholesale distributor not a regular on-line retail teashop. If you have a legitimate retail store and are interested in handling any of our teas or tea ware contact us.

I have had to separate Park Jong Il’s offerings into two parts: Teapots and Teacups.

So that you too may be able to sit some mornings with a Park Jong Il cup - warming both your heart and hand, I would like to introduce his current cup offerings.

Park Jong Il’s cups sell for as much as $30 in the West and deservedly so.

Park Jong Il's 'Chatchan'

To contact us to reserve your cup or cup set, click on the number associated with your choice. Click on the photos to enlarge them for a better view .

1 Porcelain Cup Set: $45.00 SOLD

I really like the purity of porcelain against tea. For many years I made Dagi Sets 다기 or tea sets with cups, mine with un-matching forms. I had studied with a Japanese porcelain cultural treasure, an amazing experience, but one in which he had me make every cup exactly alike – two hundred a day. While I value greatly those skills, I came to believe in cups like chawan - as individual servants of tea. I suppose it is the Korean in me. In any case when you have a variety of cup forms you usually don’t have to say, “Which cup is mine?”

How do I look at 'matching tea sets'? They are like ones waiters or waitresses, dressed the same, but each with their own individual personality.

These cups measure approx. 1.75" H by 2.25 D and 1.50 H by 2.75" D. A great pair.

2 Stoneware 3 Cup Set: $70.00

This wonderful stoneware 3 cup set is perfect for any collection. Neutral in color they will complement any tea. They are a set but upon closer inspection their individuality emerges. Their form, one of my favorite forms, mimics many Korean chawan. Subtle and beautiful.

These cups are larger, measuring between 1.8" and 2" H and 3.25" and 3.5" D. A beautiful set, flashed by the fire, the photo does not do them justice.

3 Single Stoneware Cup: $22.50 SOLD

This is a very ‘warm’ cup and one that will fit your hand beautifully as you savor your morning or evening tea. It too mimics many Korean chawan. I am enamored with tea ware that shows the process of the production of the piece. The single drip is charming. The cup - warm and inviting.

This cup measures 1.75" H and 3" D. One of my favorites.

4 A ‘Gqey-yl’ Cup Set: $67.50

A rare buncheong ‘gqey yl’ or brushed slip set from Mr. Park. Each cup stands as an individual and together reminding me of many historical moments in Korean ceramic history. I’m currently preparing a post on an older buncheong chawan. Watch for it on one of my other blogs. Buncheong decorating processes are among my favorite processes. These are made beautifully. If you don’t have a buncheong ‘gqey yl’ set in your collection. Here is your opportunity.

These cups measure between 1.3" and 1.6" H and 2.48 and 2.75 D. One of my favorite groups.

5 A ‘Tum-bung-mun’ Individual Cup: $22.50

This beautifully calming cup is decorated with another buncheong decorating process called ‘tum bung mun’ in Korean. In this case the cup is dipped into white slip before the bisque firing then glazed partially with a clear glaze and fired in his wood kiln. It is made beautifully. If you don’t have a buncheong ‘tum bung mun’ cup in you collection. Here is your opportunity.
This cup measures 2" H and 3.12" D.

6 A ‘Gqey-yl’ Individual Cup: $22.50

This cups is similar to the cups in ‘4’ above but larger. Warm in color it will fit your hand beautifully. It is wonderfully made with superb 'flashing' on the clay body. If you don’t have a buncheong ‘gqey yl’ cup in you collection. Here is a great opportunity.
This cup measures 2" H and 3.25" D. You will enjoy this cup.

7 A ‘Tum-bung-mun’ Individual Cup: $25.00 SOLD

Like 5 above, this beautiful cup is decorated with the buncheong decorating process called ‘tum bung mun’ in Korean. In this case the cup is dipped into white slip before the bisque firing then glazed partially with a clear glaze and fired in his wood kiln. But this cup has an added feature that, like the cup in my collection that opened this post, illustrates a rare kiln phenomenon - reduction-oxidation spotting. This occurs when during the firing the cup captures both the reduction gray and oxidation white in random patterns. Thank you ‘orumgama’. If you don’t have a buncheong ‘tum bung mun’ cup with these rare spots in you collection, here is your opportunity. It is made beautifully and is one of my favorites. Perhaps I should have put it up for bids.
This cup measures 2" H and 3.2" D.

To view a selection of Park Jong Il's teapots click here.

Do we have a 'Tea Special' for those who purchase a Park Jong Il cup at these sale prices? We do! It is $2.00 off any of the sale prices on our tea seen at the now ended tea sale.

Do we have special 'public blog follower' prices for these cups? Of course, but you will have to contact me to find out what they are.

Morning Crane Teapot Sale - Park Jong Il

2012-01-17T14:22:00.001-08:00

It seems appropriate to begin our first ever tea ware sale with the work of Park Jong Il whose work I have reviewed most often on this site. Two years ago, January 2010, I introduced Park Jong Il with a post on his Tea Gallery and showroom that he had built with trees hewn nearby and raw clay also from his environment. That was followed by how he handled water and his ch'at gi or teapots. Then I wrote about his chatchan or teacups and chawan. I completed that series of posts with Park's kiln and a post on his family. I suspect that I will not present another artist in the same depth that I have presented Park Jong Il - but you never know. In any case, it is obviously appropriate to begin our first Morning Crane Tea blog sale with the work of Park Jong Il.

Park Jong Il Serving Tea

With this sale we are offering Park Jong Il's ch'at gi - teapots and chatchan - teacups. We have both teapots and teacups in stock here in the USA. If you are interested in any other work he does, that can also be arranged. Contact us for details. Since Morning Crane Tea is primarily a wholesale distributor, we are hoping that legitimate tea retail stores will contact us for wholesale prices of Park Jong Il's work.

All prices for this sale are discounted below retail outlets of Park Jong Il's work available from Western sources. If you are serious, we can make inquiries about Park Jong Il's other significant work such as his "boat and ocean" (the name he gives to the work he devised to handle water) and his chawan. However, this sale is limited to no more than 10 teapots of the two styles you see displayed below plus selected teacups. So if you are interested, contact us now to reserve the teapot or cups you want.

Once the tea sale is finished we will have tea ware available at regular retail prices.

About the Teapots

Click on Images to Enlarge

We have available basically two types of Park Jong Il's teapots. Those made with an iron rich clay body and those made with a porcelain clay body. Both are fired to what we in the West call 'stoneware' temperatures. In keeping with old Korean tradition, neither is glazed on the inside. The porcelain teapots are glazed on the outside and are meant primarily for green tea. The dark clay body is unglazed and obtains its surface color from the reduction wood firing and fly ash 'kissing' the surface of the pot. Both come with different knob styles. Plain knobs as you see above and figurative knobs as you see below.

By Western standards, these teapots are small. The darker teapots average 4" in height including the knob and 3.25" in diameter across the thickest part of the body. The porcelain teapots are 3.75" in height including the knob and about 3" in diameter across the thickest part of the body. They are perfect for Korean style brewing.

We'll look at the teapots with selected cups first and then look at the individual teacups. All tea cups are approximately 3" in diameter and 2" tall unless otherwise noted. Now lets look at what we have available. Click the name of the item to contact us to reserve that teapot. You must supply your name email address and the number of the item(s).

Dark Clay Natural Wood fired Teapots and Cups

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 1A - R and L Sides $160.00 SOLD

Like all of Park Jong Il's teapots this iron rich wood fired teapot has all the characteristics of an exceptional Korean style teapot. Each of his teapot forms, including bodies, handles, spouts and lids, are beautifully balanced throughout and their surfaces, particularly on the dark clay, reflect the fire beautifully. These iron rich teapots are also robust and when presented to the whims of the fire emerge naturally kissed by the flame and flying wood ash. You can feel how the fire touched each of these teapots differently.

Since this is a sale, I have to discuss prices. With the sale price of $160, you save $20.00 off the Western retail price of $180.00. In addition, for a limited time, we will include a free 50g bag of Dong Cheon's Daejak green tea with each purchase. Add $5.00 more for Jungak, $10.00 more for Sejak or Dan-cha. But that is not all.

Suggested cups for 1A

Park Jong Il's iron rich teapots do not come with matching teacups. Park Jong Il explains that while the teapot is unglazed, the teacups must be glazed for sanitary health reasons. It is a philosophy of practicality in tune with nature.

Since this sale is to introduce tea ware we have to have some "best offer". Park Jong Il's teapots sell in the West for $180.00 retail and his teacups for $30 each or $270.00 for a teapot and three teacups. Koreans use 3 or 5 teacups in a set and have many teapots each for their various kinds of tea. Our sale price is $160.00 for the teapot and usually $20.00 for each of the cups. However, if you purchase both the teapot and the three cups suggested with the set, the total price is only $195.00 a savings of $75.00 off the retail price and $25.00 off the sale price. Plus you get the free Daejak tea, a $10.00 sale price value, or the Jungjak for $5.00 more or Sejak or Dan-cha for $10.00 more. Please keep this offer in mind for all of the teapots offered with this sale. All teapots are priced the same so if there is one you are interested in, reserve it now.

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 2A - R and L Sides $160.00

Suggested cups for 2A

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 3A - R and L Sides $160.00 RESERVED

Suggested cups for 3A RESERVED

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 4A - R and L Sides $160.00

Suggested cups for 4A

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 5A - R and L Sides $160.00

Suggested cups for 5A

Porcelain Wood Fired Teapots and Cups

In Korea, many people believe porcelain to be the "gem of the ceramic arts". Park Jong Il's porcelain teapots are truly 'gems'. Porcelain reflects the purity of nature. White porcelain reflects a quiet dignity and a refined sense of order. Somehow, Park Jong Il's white porcelain teapots also reflect a sense of naturalness, calm and peace. At a time when many Western teapot artists are searching for flamboyant teapots, even neglecting the purpose of the the pot and forgetting about tea, this Eastern artist remembers the importance of Tea.

Unlike the old question, "Which came first the chicken or the egg", there is no doubt that tea came before the teapot and Park Jong Il's teapots are made to serve both tea and Tea.

Let's look at his porcelain teapot offerings.

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 6A - R and L Sides SOLD

Suggested cups for 6A SOLD

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 7A - R and L Sides $160.00

Suggested cups for 7A

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 8A - R and L Sides SOLD

Suggested cups for 8A

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 9A - R and L Sides SOLD

Suggested cups for 9A SOLD

Click on Images to Enlarge

Teapot 10A - R and L Sides SOLD

Suggested cups for 10A SOLD

Park Jong Il's special teacups are posted on the next post.

Current followers of this blog may activate a very special discount option by contacting me. If you are not a current public 'follower' or known follower of our blogs, now is the time to join us for information on Korean and international tea ware artists and tea.

The Morning Crane Tea Sale

2011-12-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

Did you know Morning Crane Tea sells tea?

Our Morning Crane Tea Symbol

We at Morning Crane Tea want to celebrate the ending of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 by offering our Dong Cheon Korean teas to everyone at a reduced price for a very limited time. Morning Crane Tea is primarily a wholesale tea and tea ware company so it would not surprise us that many of you reading this announcement are discovering for the first time that Morning Crane Tea actually sells teas to anyone. Others of you have known for some time that we are the official wholesaler for Dong Cheon Tea. If you see a company offering Dong Cheon Teas outside of Korea, we may have sold it to them.

You may have been reading about Dong Cheon Teas on the MattCha and Tea Goober blogs (see links below). Here is your opportunity to not let another year pass without trying one or more of these superb teas. In the process you may discover some exceptional teas that you will want to keep around throughout the year.

L to R: Kim Jong Gyun and Ha Il Nam of Dong Cheon Tea with Hong Kyeong-hee and Brother Anthony of Taize co-authors of The Korean Way of Tea and Korean Tea Classics

You might want to know a little more about the Dong Cheon Tea company. Dong Cheon Tea located in Hwagae Valley in Jirisan, Korea’s ‘holy mountain’ for tea, is a Pumasi Co-operative of 88 Hwagae area tea producers who have come together to cultivate organically grown teas and process them consistently. They never use any agricultural pesticide or chemical fertilizer. All Dong Cheon teas are organically grown and are certified as such by the "Gyeongsang National University's Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation". Authority to grant this organic certification was transferred to Gyeongsang National University by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS). However to comply with international protocol when it comes to ‘officially’ labeling teas as “organic”, that designation is not used on our labels. Although the label may not reflect it, rest assured that all Dong Cheon teas are organically grown. Watch for a more in-depth post on Dong Cheon Tea and what they have done for the Hwagae area tea producers.

The Morning Crane Tea Sale:

Daejak tea in silk bag with clear plastic protection

To celebrate this unusual special offering, all of your Dong Cheon Teas will come in 50g silver bags with Morning Crane Tea labels that are inserted into a colorful bag made of Korean silk and covered by a clear plastic bag to protect the silk bag.

The silk bags, our gift to you, are made of remnants from the manufacture of beautiful high quality Korean hanbok (traditional clothing).

A few of the many silk bag color combinations

Most of these silk bags are one of a kind so we cannot accept requests for various colors. We will try to not repeat colors in a single multiple-tea order. In addition, if there is a single color that you absolutely don’t like let us know and we’ll try to not send a bag of that color to you.

Our teas for this sale are priced below other regular American retail prices, a tricky proposition since we don’t want to undercut our wholesale customers too much. Rather our hope is that by trying these teas through us you will want to continue to have these premium teas available year round and will turn to one of our wholesale customers close to you for those purchases through their retail outlets. We also hope that this sale will alert additional retail tea outlets whether in a store, on-line or for private tea tasting to the availability of these teas from Morning Crane Tea so that we will be able to build broader regional presence internationally. If you are a legitimate outlet for retail teas, please contact us for our wholesale prices for these teas.

Morning Crane Tea labels for four Dong Cheon Teas

50g of Sejak, Jungjak and Daejak packed in silver bags.

The bag size varies with the size of the leaf and air - not weight.

We are offering the following Dong Cheon teas all picked in 2011:

Sejak 50g in silver bag with silk outer bag $22.00

Jungjak 50g in silver bag with silk outer bag $15.00

Daejak 50g in silver bag with silk outer bag $10.00

and

Dan-Cha 50g in silver bag with silk outer bag $21.00

(Ujeon is also available at reduced prices but must be shipped from Korea. Please contact us for details.)

Sejak, Jungjak and Daejak are all premium green teas picked at various times during the picking season.

See the links below to read Matt Cha’s and Tea Goober’s reviews of Dong Cheon’s Sejak and Jungjak green teas. Daejak has not been reviewed but interestingly won a blind green tea tasting at a local teashop.

The Dan-Cha, referred to also as Hong-Cha in Korea, is a Korean “Red” tea. In America, we may refer to this tea as a black tea but I believe it deserves its own category as a Korean Red tea. It is not a robust black tea nor should it be brewed as long as most black teas. Made from the same leaves as Sejak, this tea is not bitter but rich and smooth and seems to retain some of the characteristics of Sejak even though it is fully fermented. I believe you will like this offering.

We decided to use the term Dan-Cha to not confuse it with Hwang-Cha Korea’s yellow tea that we will be offering after the 2012 harvest. Both the words “Dan” and “Hong” refer to the color "red".

As a wholesale company, we carry very little tea in house however a number of these teas are available for shipment immediately. After we exhaust our in-house inventory, delivery time will depend on how fast your orders arrive and how fast Dong Cheon is able to fill my order and ship it. This sale ends January 14, 2012. Orders dated after midnight of that date cannot be filled but we will refer you to one of the retail distributors near you. Tea from this sale sent to our international customers will be sent from either the USA or South Korea whichever is closest. Tea sent from Korea will have the Dong Cheon label in a 50g silver bag and with a colorful silk bag.

If in stalk, we will ship the teas to you immediately. Currently all but Ujeon is in stalk. Payment must be received before orders are shipped. Contact us for payment options.

These prices are for the sale of one or two 50g bags of any of the teas we offer. To encourage you to try various teas, take $3 off your order when you buy any three different teas. Take $4 off your order when you buy all 4 teas. This is a promotional sale rather than a typical retail sale or an opportunity for one to stock up on these teas at lower prices. That would undercut our wholesale customers. Therefore we are obligated to limit the number of bags of tea sent to one address to no more than 4 bags including any combination but no more than 2 bags of any one tea. Discount is available only if you purchase all four teas. If you are a legitimate tea retailer, contact us to learn our wholesale prices.

While this particular rare retail offering is for Dong Cheon Tea, Morning Crane Tea is not limited to Dong Cheon Tea for our teas. We are working with several artisan tea producers particularly looking at their distinctive artisan green teas, hwang-cha and ddok-cha. These teas will be available shortly after the 2012 production season.

Send your tea purchase request and questions to us at Morning Crane Tea. We’ll try to answer your questions and/or send you an invoice and explain the payment method best suited to your location.

Watch for a Morning Crane tea ware sale to come soon.

This time of year brings wonderful memories and too often sad memories as well, along with a feeling of thanks that we are still here to share those memories with family and friends over a cup of tea. Perhaps in 2012 and for years to come that cup of tea will on occasion be from Morning Crane Tea.

We at Morning Crane Tea together with our friends at Dong Cheon Tea wish you and yours a very wonderful holiday and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Were you a follower of this blog before this tea sale? Contact us for an additional discount.

Links to Tea Goober’s reviews of Dong Cheon Sejak and Jungjak:

Link to Matt Cha’s review of Dong Cheon’s Sejak

Link to Matt Cha’s review of Dong Cheon’s Jungjak

A Short Visit to the Tea Plantations in the Foothills of Jiri-san. By Petr Novák

2010-10-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy this year that I haven't had time to continue the story of our tea adventure last spring. However as our trip began, we were able to help Petr Novák and Daniel Klásek, from the Czech Republic begin their private tea adventure. Petr and his partner Miro had visited the Gangjin tea and celadon area with us in past years. Peter's friend Daniel is a tea merchant so they wanted to experience Jirisan. Following is the account of their tea adventure. Cho Hak

A Short Visit to the Tea Plantations in the Foothills of Jiri-san

by Petr Novak

It was a short spring visit and a dream that became true. Maybe I should say it was too short. But with so many experiences, when Cho Hak asked me to share our “adventures” with readers of his Morning Crane Blog I was aware that it would be hard to find where to start, what to say. …How can I share the impressions from the mountains? How can I express the wind in a bamboo forest in which you can smell the hint of the sea, fragrances of tea or smiling people?

Hwagye-dong Valley- tea valley on the border of Jiri-san National Park

I fell in love with Korean tea a few years ago and from the beginning I felt that as the Korean peninsula stretches between China and Japan so also Korean tea lies between Chinese and Japanese teas. That it is related to both but unusual and distinctive. When I enjoyed those ‘first’ experiences of NokCha I was really curious about what was behind it. I felt that there were not only different tastes and fragrances but also an energy in this tea; and that it grows from the difference in culture.
When we, my partner Miroslava Randová and I, were invited in 2008 to participate on Mungyeong Chassabal Festival I was happy. Happy, not only because of all the great things that Cho Hak had described in few of his posts but I also saw it as a natural opportunity to learn about the tea for which my love was growing all those years. In 2008 after the festival we visited Boseong area and with help from Cho Hak we had the opportunity to not only see tea plantations but also to make tea by ourselves in small a family “tea workshop”. In my mind I can still smell the freshness of that tea!

Fresh tea leaves in Boseong area

The visits of Korea in 2008 as well in 2009 were extraordinary but like all things, “The more you know and the more you see the more you don’t know and you would like to see”. ..
Many Korean teas I have drunk during years come from the Jiri-san area. Very often those teas come with “nice stories” about wild trees, high mountains and the use of a traditional process. Although I am always careful about accepting this kind of story as facts, I felt that the teas from this area are strong, full of energy. So when I realized that I had three days after the festival until I had to leave Korea the decision where to spend those days was easy.
This spring Miroslava was not able to go with me, so my friend Daniel Klásek joined me. He is a tea enthusiast and tea merchant in the Czech Republic so he was more than happy to be at the Teabowl Festival in Mungyeong as well as join me after the festival to see the tea gardens of Jiri-san.

Daniel (on the left) and me on our way to the south of Korea

Before we left our country I asked Matthew from Mattchablog (http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com) if he had some recommendations as to where to go, what to see- because our time was very limited. Here are his words and although at first it looks too simple but it was really enough and helpful. Thank you very much, Matt!

Matt’s words:
Use Hadong as your main base of exploration. Go to the Hadong Grean Tea Research Center and the Kind people there will likely set up some plantation visits.

Even just talking to the people in town will likely get you to a tea field.

You got to visit the 1000-year old tree.

And go to Ssangyaesa Temple.

This post about the tea area might help: (chick here.)

Hadong, a small city in the foothill of Jiri-san mountain, is around two hours by bus from Pusan . While traveling there, we began to see tea fields around thirty kilometers from Hadong and we felt that we are going to the right place. Mountains, wonderful river, rice fields, bamboo…we were happy.

Hadong and its wonderful natural surroundings

After our arrival we tried to find the Green Tea Research Center. After some initial difficulties we got lucky and the Korean people again showed their hospitality. With unforeseen help of people from this institution we saw and enjoyed more than we expected.
In Hadong County there are many places where you can see tea plantation. We visited Hwagye-dong valley. In this valley, around 25km from Hadong, you can find Ssangyaesa temple. Near this temple the first tea seeds were planted in the eighth century and were cared for by monks for centuries.

Entrance to Ssangyaesa temple

This tea season in Korea was late, because of a long winter, so we had the opportunity to see tea harvesting. We could have been too late.

Hand-picking of tea. The hillside is steeper than it looks from the picture…

Some parts of these tea fields are under bamboo. Picking tea leaves in this “forest” is much harder but the tea has a different quality due to the shadows and micro-climate.

Tea field under bamboo…

Gee Dae Nah- our new friend from the Green Tea Research Institute who helped us translate. Language is one the biggest complications while traveling in Korea alone. So thank you Dae Nah.

Probably only in this small, nice restaurant near Ssangyaesa temple can you try “tea kimchi”- pickled fresh tealeaves.

Tasty and stylish: pickled tea leaves in a restaurant surrounded by tea fields

We were surprised at how steep the incline is where the oldest tea tree in Korea grows. It is a 1000-year-old tree. Because of the tea variety and climate in Korea this tree is still quite small compared to, for example, the tea trees in Yunnan.

Tea bushes near the oldest tea tree…

Korean people, Working, smiling, singing…

So another shard to the mosaic of understanding the background of Korean tea’s exceptional energy, taste and fragrance grows from these mountains and is given to it by the people who live here. Inspirational.

. . . . .

Peter and Daniels trip must have been an inspirational journey through Korean tea. The folks at the research center have always been helpful to us as well. Thank you Petr for writing and providing this post. We were glad to be able to help you get started on this journey.

There are many amazing tea journeys possible in Korea. We are looking forward to a slightly more extensive one with a very small group of guest next May when we will meet with Brother Anthony and Hong Kyeong-Hee, co-authors of The Korean Way of Tea and translators of Korean Tea Classics as we experience both some amazing tea as well as some wonderful tea ware. Join us and follow our blog at Tea Tour Korea.

Tea Tour Korea 2010 Part 2 (Gangjin)

2010-06-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Sitting around a festival waiting for someone to come to view your work is not very exciting. I did have groups of monks and a big collector (who bought several good teabowls) come by knowing exactly what they wanted, but that type of sale didn't happen every day and since I had not been with the Heiss’s and Mary visiting the Mungyeong Artists in their studios, for me, the most excitement came during the adventures after the festival.
The Heiss’s along with international artists from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Latvia and Russia accompanied us to Gangjin - at Gangjin’s invitation. Being able to introduce these artists to the Gangjin area made our adventure very special.
The afternoon of our arrival, we visited Muwisa an ancient temple founded originally in 617 CE and last rebuilt in 1555. One of the only remaining paintings from the Goryeo Dynasty can be found at this temple. Nearly all paintings above ground were destroyed during the Japanese invasions particularly the Imjin War - The Pottery War. Battles for that war were fought in Gangjin's harbor and surrounding areas while a replica of a turtle ship is docked in Yosu a port not far away.

I believe this is Guan-eum Buddha of Compassion

We were there at a very historic time in the life of this old temple - Muwisa. They were rebuilding large sections of it using ancient methods handed down for many generations. Throughout its future the year 2010 will be listed as a year of major renovation at Muwisa - and we were there.

Each log is hand planed and fashioned to fit without nails.

Not far from Muwisa is an O’Sulloc tea plantation. O'Sulloc is a rising star in Korean tea. Watch for it to be sold in your country in a few years. This O'Sulloc plantation is just over 20 years old. Their larger plantation and beautiful tea museum are on the island of Jejudo. The tea in Gangjin is machine picked in this beautiful setting and the tea drinks quite well.

The beautiful Mount Wolchulsan frames O'Sulloc tea

The Gangjin O'Sulloc Tea Plant

That evening we visited Sanghwa College where Kang Kwang Mugg, our host and chair of the ceramics department, demonstrated the making of ceramic carving tools and we toured the facilities.

Gangjin makes their carving tools from umbrella ribs.

The next morning we experienced the beautifully inlaid celadon at the Gangjin Celadon factory where we met our old friend Yoon Jae Jin who is now the head artist at the factory. The complex, just for celadon, is huge a testimony to the respect Gangjin has for celadon. Historically, work produced in Gangjin was considered the finest celadon in the world and 80% of the Goryo Dynasty celadon found in museums throughout the world was made in Gangjin. Today, they work to maintain that tradition of excellence.

A 12th century Gangjin Celadon Tea Pot

In the early afternoon, we went to the studio of the onggi potter Jeoung Yoon Suk now a Human Cultural Asset in onggi.

Chollanamdo uses the flopped slab method to form their onggi.

After the onggi visit, we went to Gangjin’s great tea temple of Baekryeonsa, home of the famous tea master Yo Yeon and one of the former homes of the historic Korean tea master Cho-Ui. There, we had ujeon, fresh first picked green tea and also bought some of the unique ddokcha they make. The Ujeon was presented in individual cups allowing each participant to watch their tea expand from tiny dried curls to small leaves. The smooth, sweet taste of good Korean ujeon like this is amazing.

The monk prepares small sample cups for us to experience

The expanded leaves make a very smooth and sweet tea

While we were experiencing this tea, Yo Yeon brought in a bag full of freshly picked tea leaves.

Yo Yeon Picked Tea. Is this pick sejak or jungjak? Is it for green tea or ddokcha?

Yo Yeon's ddokcha rediscovers an old temple tradition. Delicious

The next morning we went to the studio of Jeong Ki-bong one of Korea’s premiere celadon artists as was his father before him and is his son as well. His tea ware is quite varied and beautiful and his carving skills are superb. We definitely will return to this artist later.

Let Jeong Ki Bong serve tea to you.

A Jeong Ki-Bong Double walled vessel. Even the interior vessel is carved!

Our trip to the Yeongam Pottery Museum (where we saw an outstanding exhibit), brought us some interesting Yeongam green tea served by the director Kim Kyu-Hwa. “It tastes like mint.” one of the quests exclaimed at first sip. But it was just the freshness of another amazing green tea.

Kim Kyu-Hwa serves us tea.

A trip to the very interesting Maritime Museum in Mokpo finished our day.
That last evening we visited the home of our host Kang Kwang-Mugg and met his wife Her Yoon-Jeung and daughter Kang Ga-Hyen in their lovely home. Mary and I knew Kwang-Mugg and Yoon-Jeung before Ga-Hyen was born and have watched her grow over the years. This visit was a was a real treat for us and for those who had not been in a Korean home before. Ga-Hyen played the piano beautifully to entertain us.

What a beautiful way to end our stay in Gangjin

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Tea Tour Korea 2010 - Part 1

2010-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

(click images to enlarge)

What an adventure we had in Korea before, during and after the Mungyeong Chassabal Festival. I don’t really know where to begin.

We arrived at our hotel in the heart of Insadong, walked out the door to explore the area and around the corner where we discovered a small gallery exhibiting the work of a tea ware artist. I had to walk in. To my surprise, the artist looked familiar. He knew me too. After a while we realized that we had exhibited together a couple of years earlier in Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla Dynasty that eventually united all of Korea. Mary, my wife, and I, along with some other international artists on one of our tours, had been invited to exhibit with the Korean Wood-fire Association in Gyeongju. Jeong Song-hoon, the exhibiting artist, is a member of that association.

Jeong Song-hoon Bo-yi Tea Caddy

Jeong makes an interesting tea caddie for 'bo-yi' tea (not to be confused with bori or bodi cha i.e. barley tea). 'Bo-yi' is the Korean term for 'pu-ehr' tea also known in China as bo-ee similar to Korean. Jeong’s small teapots, in particular, are quite nice and we had to add one to our collection. Rediscovering this artist set the tone for what would become a great Korean tea and tea ware adventure.

Jeong Song-hoon Bo-yi Teapot

I had been corresponding with David Mason and scheduled a meeting the day after we arrived in Korea. If you have never heard of David Mason, an expert on Korean tea, Korean travel and Korea’s mountain spirits, you really owe it to yourself to follow my links. We met him to discuss our mutual interests.

David Mason at his Neighborhood Restaurant

In the process I became very interested in the Baekdu-daegan, Korea’s mountain spine, that really involves travel, tea and much more. The Baekdu-daegan makes a major turn at Mungyeong thus putting Mungyeong at the center of any adventures that might take place there.

The next day we also met briefly with Brother Anthony, co-author of The Korean Way of Tea who by chance was having a meeting with Jeff Novick, an antique dealer from Thailand, who has also corresponded with me about my tea ware. David and his wife and Jeff and his wife would eventually meet us again at the Mungyeong festival, although separately.

There were 30 international artists from 26 countries that participated in the 2010 Mungyeong Chassabal Festival. These, in Mungyeong’s order, included:

America - Myself / Australia - Sue McFarland / Belgium - Linda De Nil / Canada - Barbara Balfour / China - Wang Guoxiang / Czech Republic - Petr Novak / Denmark - Anne Mette Hjorthöj / England - Lisa Hammond / France - Claire Linard / Germany - Ute Dreist / Ireland - Peter Fulop / Japan - Yoshiro Kimura and Kim Kyung-Duk / Latvia - Dainis Punderus / Malaysia - Mohad Roslan Ahmad / Netherlands - Niek Hoogland and Pim van Huisseling / New Zealand - Elena Renker / Norway - John Skognes and Tora Haabet / Pakistan - Raania Azam Khan Durrani / Poland - Monika Patuszynska / Russia - Natalia Vilvovskaja / Singapore - Ahmad Abu Bakar and Gita Winata / Sweden - Steven Jones / Switzerland - Valentine Burkhalter / Taiwan - Shan- Shu Lin / Thailand - Somluk Pantiboom and / Vietnam - Nguyen Bao Toan. It was like the United Nations of ceramics and we made lasting friendships.

Exhibiting Artists Mungyeong Chassabal Festival 2010

The "Queen" joined our group as were were using her quarters for our exhibit space.

Mungyeong sponsors just one ceramic artist per country. Where there are more than one, the other artist is a close friend, husband or wife. One does not apply to be included as artists are selected and invited and to do so would be rude. Obviously I can’t, in this post, highlight all of these potters but I’ll make an attempt at a few at a time, from time to time, during the next year between other postings on tea or at the dawan-chawan blog where it might be more appropriate.

I selected three artists to introduce and admittedly there is some bias.

Smile Ute - Your usually smiling

One of Ute's Excellent Teabowls

Ute Dreist was traveling internationally visiting potters in many countries when Mungyeong found her and invited her to participate. In addition, many of the European invited artists owe Ute for their invitation to participate in the Myngyeong Chassabal Festival. She is a outstanding Germa ceramic artist and participates in many festivals in Europe.

Sue McFarland came to Korea with us on a tour several years ago. When the opportunity opened for more artists at the festival, she was invited by Mungyeong to participate.

Mungyeong is famous for their apples, maybe Sue will become famous for hers.

This work has a radiant quality I'm not capturing.

Sue is an excellent ceramic artist and won a prestigious award for her teabowls in Australia. She is very active in her ceramic association as well - past president. We've become friends and SKYPE often.

Petr Novak was found by me when I answered a question his partner, Miro Randova, posted on a ceramic site I happened to visit. “My partner does tea ware.”, she wrote.

Petr does superb tea ware as some of you following this site know.

Miro should have said, "Petr does great tea ware.". He is beginning to gain a following in Asia from the contacts he is making in Mungyeong. The Czech Republic has a very strong tea culture and Petr seems to be a central part of it.

A graceful teapot and some small bowls by Petr Novak

I will eventually introduce you to all of the international artists and some of the Korean artists who participated in the Mungyeong Chassabal Festival on this blog and on the dawan-chawan-chassabal blog.

One of the highlights of the festival is its setting. The Mungyeong Chassabal Festival is set in a beautiful comprehensive movie set. A great place to experience both tea and tea ware.

Mountain mist greets us when we arrive at our booth.

Our booths are behind the palace gate

Straw thatched roofs remind us of old Korea

Many festival goers enjoy the scenic grounds of the movie set as much as the ceramic art. That wasn't the case with David Mason. When David Mason arrived he was with Roger Shepard who is now sitting at a temple high in the mountains near Mungyeong writing a book with David about hiking the Baekdu-daegan. Roger and his friend Andrew Douch, both from New Zealand, are probably the only Caucasians to do so. The adventure is like walking the heart of the culture of Korea with its many temples, mountain people, mountain spirits and tea. We’re working on some tour possibilities that will combine some of their adventure with visits to the many artists whose homes and studios are in or near these beautiful mountains. What experiences those tours will be!

Roger, David and Andrew

Osaek scenic-gorge

On Saturday Mary Lou and Robert Heiss, authors of The Story of Tea arrived at the festival. They are writing a book on international tea ware and contacted us to help them meet some Korean artists. The festival was also a great place to meet tea ware artists from many other countries. Mary, my wife (not to be confused with Mary Lou), with our translator Dr. Charlie Youn, escorted the Heiss’ to the studios of some of the best tea ware artists in Mungyeong.

Mary Lou (L) and Robert Heiss (R) with Kim Jong Ok Korea's National Intangible Asset in ceramics

These artists included both Cheon Han Bong and Kim Jong Ok, Intangible Cultural Assets in ceramics. While I stayed behind attending my booth, they had quite an adventure with these wonderful artists.

Cheon Han Bong, Intangible Cultural Asset

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

NEWS on Korean Green Tea 4/29/2010

2010-04-29T01:09:00.000-07:00

We are in Korea waiting to go to Mungyeong as the USA representative in the Mungyeong Chassabal Festival. It is cold in Korea, much colder than it has been in the last five years we have been here at this time.
The other day we met with Brother Anthony, co-author of The Korean Way of Tea who had just returned from Jirisan and Jollanamdo, two of Korean more important tea areas. Tea is coming in late this year, a result of the cold winter. This will drive the price of the first pick up. This doesn't mean that all Korean teas will be expensive, but tea will be coming in late and we will have to wait for the prices. In a couple of weeks we will be traveling to the Bosong tea area where we will be able to get a better idea about what is actually happening.
With us now are Sue McFarland from Australia and Elena Renker from New Zealand tea ware artists and representatives for their countries in the Mungyeong festival. We'll be meeting with Petr Novak from the Czech Republic, whom some of you know, and the other artists on Saturday. When I get a chance, I'll be posting on the Mungyeong teaware event and this year's Korean green tea.

Tea Caddies are Waiting

2010-04-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

We are reviewing some tea caddies on our Morning Crane Tea Ware blog site. This group is from Gangjin and some of these or possibly all will be part of our Gangjin collection. Your input is important to us. Follow that site to receive discounts on tea ware. Post the best comment and you may even win something.

All tea caddies are hand formed on a wheel and hand decorated with double lids to help preserve the tea.

We hope to add to the general wholesale market with this new work and hope that you will consider these offerings in the right direction.

Please join us on the Morning Crane Tea Ware blog.

The Family

2010-03-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

Although we had met Park Jong Il some years before and even sponsored his visit to America we first met his family in their home in 2005. Their daughter had just been born and their home, studio and kiln sat alone nearly at the top of the mountain.
When I began writing about Park Jong Il, I simply thought that you might be interested in the addition of his tea gallery and how he built it. Then I remembered that he had some interesting ways he handled water for tea – particularly his tea tower. That led to posts on tea sets, tea cups and tea bowls and my most recent post on his kiln. These were not pre-conceived posts but just seemed to flow one into the other. Somewhere along this process it was obvious that I was presenting a rather full picture of a tea ware artist and what it takes to provide the hand formed tea ware we use everyday.

Two things were missing: the forming process and his family. When we visit Park Jong Il he is busy presenting tea and is seldom creating work.

He always greets us with a ready smile.

This photo of him trimming the foot on one of his tea bowls is our single forming photo.

Trimming is as important to the forming process for most Korean ceramic works as ‘turning’ or ‘throwing’. To a chawan connoisseur each part of the bowl is very important - the line of the form, the depth of the bowl, the quality and color of the glaze, but perhaps none more so than the foot.
The very best bowls can command great prices but in spite of the stories of simple tea bowls demanding great sums, clearly the motivation is not great wealth. While that is possible for a few tea ware artists, it is not the case with the hundreds if not thousands of tea ware artists who live very simple lives just so we, who consume tea, can enjoy a cup of tea while holding one of their cups in our hand.
Even those tea ware artists who have achieved considerable fame and financial fortune did not begin with a financial motivation. For the vast majority, the motivation to create tea ware is not wealth in monetary terms - but it may be wealth in more spiritual terms. There is something compelling and spiritual about the combination of the physical, psychological and philosophical aspects of ones being that must come together to create Tea ware. That combination inspires one to work, and dedicate ones life to it.
More rare is he/she who has a companion who understands that motivation and with whom he/she can share that experience. Park Jong Il has such a companion in his wife Shin In-suk*.

Shin In-suk is herself an artist with considerable talent. Her drawings, paintings and occasional sculpture sometimes whimsical, like many Korean artists before her, often capture poetic life moments.

Shin In-suk designs and sews most of Jong Il’s clothing - as seen in the photos of Jong Il serving tea above. She is a superb chef*, a wonderful and loving mother and supports her husband in many other ways.
Their daughter Park Seo-Ryeon is growing in the footsteps of her parents showing early signs of considerable artistic skill.

This is Seo-Ryeon's work at the Western ages of 3 and 5. It is obvious that the gift of artistic ability did not pass her.

Presenting this tea ware artist and the family has been more than a pleasure. From the humble building of his tea gallery and home to his work, kiln and family we have been able to look a little closer than usual at what it takes to bring us a hand formed cup, bowl or tea pot for our daily tea.
As the Morning Crane Tea blog grows we want to share the work of many other tea ware artists. Most posts will be on Korean tea ware artists and aspects of Korean tea but other countries will be represented. We hope that you join us. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Please visit our other blog dawan-chawan-chassabal.blogspot.com as we explore the tea bowl.

*Korean wives most often keep their family name.
*Shin In-suk prepared a feast for our group during our visit in October 2009 that was the best meal we had during the tour.

*The website TeaTourKorea.com currently has a presentation on the preparation of Korean green tea. We are unable to update that site due to ongoing technical difficulties.

Jong Il's Gama - The Kiln

2010-03-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

If you have never sat alone firing a wood kiln on a cool night when the wind is still and the only light comes from the flame, heating - almost burning - your face, you have never experienced the most spiritual moment of being with clay. There is nothing like it. The river of flame flowing through the ware, touching the surfaces with both heat and ash, perhaps gentle at first and for some never gentle. For others, a fierce flame dancing, darting not kissing but more like passionately embracing the ware - fire is.

Park Jong Il's kiln is an orumgama - a chambered climbing kiln - just large enough for one person, with occasional help, to manage during the thirty hours needed to reach 1260C for the glaze firing.

Of course the wood must be cut ahead of time.
If you were to visit these mountains just thirty years ago they would be nearly bare as all of the trees were cut and shipped to Japan during the Japanese occupation. Today there is new growth and wood is plentiful. Still potters today scrounge for any scrap wood they can find to use in their firing especially during the early heating or candling stages. Look closely and you can see the ax used to split the logs. Chopping wood is a long and laborious task.
Black and red pine are used. Pine in Asia is not a soft wood like in the United States it is a hard wood and the preferred wood for firing.

The firebox is long and set below ground. During the glaze firing it is fired for 20 hours.

After the fire box has heated the kiln the chambers are fired for approximately 3 hours each to reach te final glaze temperature. No cones are used to determine the proper glaze melting temperature. That determination is made by eye. The color of the heat and the use of a metal rod that allows one to watch the fire shadow on the ware are the main methods used. In addition small tea cups are placed near the peep hole. When the glaze melts on these cups, the potter is assured that the proper temperature has been reached. I have seen other potters roll small coils of glaze that are dried and placed in wads of clay to help determine the glaze melting point. Others place rings of clay dipped into glaze into the kiln. These are drawn out with a metal rod to determine if the glaze temperature has been reached.

Prior to the glaze firing there is a bisque firing in the same kiln. The firebox is fired for 5-6 hours and each chamber is fire 1 or 2 hours to reach 800C for stoneware or 900C for a porcelain bisque.

Remember that Park Jong Il lives high in the mountains. His Kiln is 500 meter above sea level and slopes at an 18˚ angle. Most Korean kilns slope at a 16˚ angle. The slightly steeper slope helps Jong Il reach temperature more easily.

Jong Il demonstrates the construction of the arch in this ancient style kiln. It is a mangdaengi "망댕이 가마". So named because of the type of brick used in the construction of the dome.

This type of kiln predates the Imjin War with Japan and would have been in use by many potters during that historic period. It is known as a noborigama in Japan. The nobori went to Japan from Korea.

This photo is of a similar kiln being repaired. It is the oldest kiln in operation in Korea.

To learn more about this other amazing mangdaengi kiln and the important ceramic family that owns it, visit my other blog dawan-chawan-chassabal.blogspot.com.

The interior arch of Park Jong Il's mangdaengi orumgama.

The interior dome of the mangdaengi.

The interior of one of the chambers. Note, traditionally no shelves were used in these kilns. That is why tea bowls were stacked inside each other.

Recently Park Jong Il built a second kiln. It is also an orumgama but is made of commercial brick. As you can see from this photo both kilns were covered with a castable refractory coating to provide extra insulation and more protection from the weather.

I can't leave this post without showing you the interior of the new kiln. This is the fire box. Compare Jong Il's two fire boxes with the old mangdaengi kiln in Mungyeong.

The interior of Jong Il's new kiln showing the dome of the orumgama.

The look of the older mangdaengi gama is rather romanic and rustic, appealing to our aesthetic senses, but protecting the kilns is important. On a recent phone conversation with Park Jong Il he told me that he had about 50 cm of snow.
I appreciate your patience with this rather lengthy series of posts on just one potter Park Jong Il. I decided to post this information early in my blog to provide a foundation on tea ware. I hope that this sereies on Park Jong Il is interesting to both those of you who are ceramic artists and to those of you who are tea connoisseurs as we share similar interests. A more in depth look at a tea ware artist such as this may help those who drink tea identify more with what it takes to make that small cup or teapot you are using. For those who would like to know a little more about tea and can't wait, visit TeaTourKorea.com. It isn't just about a tea tour but provides considerable information on Korean tea and links to other sources. Another great source for information on Korean tea is Matt Cha's blog. You may have to search through his earlier posts to find the posts on Korean teas but it is worth the search and all his posts are interesting.
Before I leave Park Jong Il's kiln, you should know that before each firing, Jong Il places a small cup above the opening of the fire box. In it is some tea, soju or even makgeolli. It is an offering to the gods of the kiln for a good firing. Many potters also bathe before the firing. It is a way of preparing oneself to be properly attentive and to consider the firing event an ocassion worthy of one being at their best.
In the West we become disappointed if we lose a pot or two because of a cracked foot or the glaze didn't develop properly. In Korea it is not uncommon for a potter to lose between 40% and 70% of their work. The percentage of loss is even high for celadon.
I remember a TV program on a tea bowl artist I saw in Korea. The program followed a potter and his son as they worked for several weeks preparing the wood and creating the ware. Then they loaded and fired the kiln. The firing was a total disaster. The final scene was their breaking every piece in that firing because nothing was acceptable. This experience did not deter those potters but gave them greater resolve to continue in their work - a quest for a better chawan.
To many who drink tea, tea cups, tea pots and tea bowls are just containers for tea. To a Tea ware artist, they are a way of life. It is also true that to many ceramic artists, tea is just a drink, but to Tea connoisseurs Tea is also a way of life. My hope is that these blogs will in some small way bring our two worlds closer together.

Park Jong Il’s Chatchan and Chawan

2010-02-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

For a tea ware artist to create truly significant work, they must know Tea. Does the one who drinks tea in a serious manner have a responsibility to know and understand tea ware?

When I sell my work in Asia, I have the opportunity to talk with the customers directly. On my first encounters, now some years ago, I was surprised at their knowledge of the ceramic process as opposed to Western customers who more commonly simply bought what they liked. The Asian customers ask questions, “Is this wood fired or gas fired? What temperature do you fire at? Is that natural mountain stone in the clay body? Even, “How many times have you drunk maccha?” The latter question was a test to determine if I really understood Tea. But in the West, I very seldom get questions like that.

I created this blog for selfish reasons, one can never know enough about Tea and writing about it helps. In addition looking carefully at someone else’s work may serve to educate us all.

Park Jong Il’s ‘chatchan’ teacups and ‘chawan’ tea bowls are the foundation of his work – of any tea ware artist’s work..

Jong Il’s are all simple functional ware and rely on “outer powers” for many of the effects achieved. The clay body, glaze, kiln, even wheel and other things have as much to do with the work as he does. For me, that is one of the signs of a good tea ware artist. They are one with nature and use nature in their work.

I will begin with some of his teacups. For many reasons, teacups do not receive the same respect as tea bowls. First, they are small. Second, they are usually not expensive. Third, Korea’s who drink tea use chatchan every day as common ware. Fourth, there is a mystery surrounding tea bowls that has elevated their status beyond imagination. A simple Korean or Japanese chawan made today by a known artist may be sold for thousands of dollars. Even an unknown tea ware artist may receive hundreds or even thousands of dollars if the look is right. While a teacup made by the same artist remains reasonably priced. The time and effort to create a chatchan or a chawan are similar. For an experienced tea ware artist it takes just seconds more to form a chawan. It is no wonder that some tea ware artists have decided to only make chawan. But the reason for this is not only financial. This issue will be explored more fully on www.dawan-chawan-chassabal.blogspot.com.

Park Jong Il is a complete tea ware artist. As you are seeing, he produces a full line of tea ware. I apologize that I do not have examples of a greater selection of his chatchan. You have seen his porcelain and in doing so have discovered that he uses more than one clay body. Many ceramic artists use just one clay body. Park Jong Il uses many clay bodies as each clay body contributes to the final result.

Jong Il's chatchan are beautiful. The four cups to the right measure approximately 2” x 3” or 5 cm x 7.5 cm. The left one is slightly smaller. All have a similar clay body that is rich in iron. Brown is one of the preferred colors for maccha but these are for infused tea that looks good with many colors even clear glass – an admission difficult for a potter to make.

The cup to the left is glazed with a simple glaze revealing the dark body. At first glance one might think that the four cups to the right are all glazed the same but on closer examination there are two sets. All four are tum bung or dipped into slip buncheong* but both the slips and glazes are slightly different. You might ask why an artist would take the time to use different slips and glazes to create similar results. The answer is in the word ‘artist’. Artists see beyond “first glance”. The more we look at these two sets of chatchan the more different they become – beautiful. Aesthetically chatchan follow similar principals as chawan. In essence they are chawan in miniature and should be enjoyed in the same manner.

Jong Il’s chawan are simple and spiritual, reflecting the man and his approach to Tea and tea ware. This bowl is quite deep, even deeper than an ‘ido’ bowl and fits the hand beautifully. It is glazed with a simple “dry” glaze composed of feldspar and ashes.

On occasion tiny natural stones in the clay body interrupt the ‘sharkskin’ surface and gently influenced the rim. The bowl is quiet and humble and a great color for maccha.

But maccha looks great with a variety of tones of several colors so it becomes a matter of taste, personality and mood as to which chawan one selects for their bowl on a particular evening. It is like selecting which tea to drink that morning with which teacup, or which teapot should be used with which tea? So a collector of chawan, who is truly into Tea, and enjoys maccha, will have many tea bowls in their collection and may pay considerable sums for them. Korea’s Human National Treasure in pottery, Kim Jong Ok, receives as much as the equivalent of $7000 USD for a single bowl. I know others who have received even more. But most artists, including Park Jong Il, have more modest prices.

The above bowl is glazed with an unusual slip glaze on an iron rich clay body. Park Jong Il uses several clay bodies as each has its own voice in the final result. This piece is more heavily reduced than the first and iron is pulled from the glaze and clay body creating a very different result. This bowl is masculine, the previous bowl more feminine. Both were quickly formed. Yet both chawan maintain a quiet, strong presence and reflect the personality of the same maker.

I call this a gama sabal or kiln bowl. So called because the kiln had as much to do with this tea bowl as the potter. It captures the perfect balance between the inner and outer powers necessary to achieve quality chawan. If this bowl were glazed with a ‘shino’ glaze, the Japanese would call it “rat shino” because of the color change caused simply by the change of gray reduction to white oxidation on the same piece. The term ‘reduction’ refers to the reduction of oxygen during the firing. When oxygen in needed, and not present, oxygen is ‘pulled’ from the oxides in the glaze and clay body causing them to change color. This is the same effect that’s necessary to produce copper reds and celadon chungja glazes*. But surprise, this bowl is glazed with the same slip and glaze as two of the chatchan above and is ‘buncheong’*. It was dipped into a thin clay slip tum bung over a darker clay body.

In the beautiful chawan above, you can almost see the reduction smoke and flames swirling around, now frozen in that perfect moment.

This ‘gqey yl’ or brushed slip ‘buncheong’ piece is simply beautiful and is decorated using one of the old ‘buncheong’ methods for decorating with white slip. Slip in this case was applied with a rough brush. The slip was applied without hesitation – direct and in one movement. The ‘line’ of this bowl also reflects the quickness of forming – both turning or throwing and trimming on a wheel. In Korea, trimming is as important to the forming process as turning.

The interior, here with some remaining maccha, shows the uneven reduction often prized by tea ware connoisseurs. This bowl “moves in its stillness” and is a good example of Jong Il’s work.

I’m sorry that I don’t have photos of all sides of these chawan including the bottom of the foot. The latter two photos were taken in Jong Il’s Tea/gallery while the first two photo are from his collection.

My next posting on Park Jong Il will be on his kiln followed by his family.

Footnotes:
*‘Buncheong’ powder, is a relatively new term for a group of slip decorating processes used in Korea between 1392 and approximately 1592. The use of these methods had already been slowly dying in favor of porcelain when Hideyoshi’s samurai warriors invaded Korea during the Imjin War (1592-1596) insuring the demise of these ‘buncheong’ processes. Approximately 70,000 prisoners were taken to Japan as captives. These included artisans of many kinds, men, women, and children. Included were hundreds of Korea’s most important literati. Included also were approximately 2000 ceramic artists. The war is nicknamed the Pottery War by some scholars. Captive Korean potters began many of Japan’s now famous pottery villages. One prominent expert on both Korean and Japanese arts and culture told me that if we were to remove all the Korean influences from Japanese ceramics, it would be like removing all African American musicians from the Jazz Hall of Fame.

The Japanese call the various Korean buncheong processes mishima and have identified more than 20 different types.

*The “secret color” of celadon is achieved by the use of iron in the clay body and/or glaze and the proper amount of reduction during the firing. In celadon the oxidation would have been yellow while the perfect reduction becomes “kingfisher blue” cheongja or what we know as “celadon”. Over-reduced the celadon turns gray. During the 1300’s Chinese scholars declared that one of the finest things under heaver was Korean celadon – everything else was Chinese. To learn more about celadon check the website www.GangjinCeladon.com.
As for Korea’s use of copper red; Korea used copper red on pottery two hundred years before China. Koreans have been masters of reduction firing since the bronze age.
*I have changed my spelling for powdered tea from "matcha" to "maccha". While both spellings are used on a regular basis by different authors, "maccha" is the preferred spelling by the Japanese and it is presumed at this time to be a Japanese word. Ref: www.jagasilk.com/maccha-or-matcha. What word do the Chinese use for powdered tea?

Park Jong Il's Ch’at gi and Ch'akwan

2010-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Park Jong I'ls ch'at gi or tea sets like all of his work are very Korean. Usually simple, always functional. They remain elegant.

This tea set includes from the left tea cups ch'at chan a small serving dish, tea pot ch'akwan or ch'at chonja with side typical Korean side handle a cooling bowl mulchikim sabal or kwityaekurut stand for tea pot lid, water discard bowl kaesukurut on which a ceramic tea scoop ch'asi sits, tea caddy ch'aho. The tea caddy is not used for storage but for serving or ceremony. Tea scoops are most often made of bamboo. Finally a small heater and pouring bowl.

This porcelain set includes-from the left- a tea caddy, a small flower vase, two cups with stands, a tea pot with the typical Korean side handle, a cooling bowl (behind), a water pitcher for transferring water, a stand for the tea pot lid and a water discard bowl. I'm sorry that I don't yet know all the terms in Korean.

This tea set grouping is less elaborate but includes a small tall handled tea pot, cooling bowl (that is particularly important for green tea), a stand for the teapot lid and two cups with stands. Most Korean tea pots for infusing tea are small and are used for multiple infusings during the sitting.

You have seen other examples of Park Jong Il's tea pots in earlier postings. This moderately sized tea pot ch'akwan or ch'at chonja is a classic Jong Il. Simple in form, the spout is perfectly placed with the opening at water level. The tall arching handle was formed as a ring on the wheel cut and placed on the vessel. A whimsical figure sits as the handle for the lid.

This teapot is unglazed with subtle wood ash flashing and back handle.

A little whimsy doesn't hurt this small teapot with wood ash flashing.

Park Jong I'ls work, for the most part, is not flashy but simple, natural and functional work. They are made to serve. I really enjoy seeing Park Jong Il's tea pots and pouring vessels and am impessed by their subtle variety when viewed as a group.

As stated earlier, Park Jong Il's work is related to his life, simple, direct, honest and natural - humble and un-adulterated. Perhaps there are some who will find Jong Il's work too plain or boring. But each piece is born from a natural approach to living and is created effortlessly as he peacefully sits at his wheel. In Seon (Zen) there is a saying that at the end of the road lies effortless peace. What more can be desired?

On my next posting, I'll finally look at some of his ch'at chan and chawan.

Park Jong Il: Handling Water

2010-02-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

The way a tea ware artist decides to handle water is an important part of their production. Park jong Il uses several systems.

This water tray is usually used for tea cups ch'at-chan and the serving of infused tea. It is a simple servant, unglazed except for the fly ash that might settle on it during the firing. The teapot ch'akwan or ch'at-chonja has a simple glaze as well.

Park's water bowl system is simple and direct. The teapot and tea cups are accompanied with as a tea cooling bowl mulshikim sabal, a stand for the lid of the tea pot and a tea scoop or ‘chasi'. Most often tea scoops are made from bamboo. We seldom find a tea ware artist that makes his own tea scoops. I first mistook this for a tong rest. Tongs are used to pick up heated and washed teacups.

A third water system is a water tray here seen with a teapot and cups, a tea caddy, hot water ewer, cooling pitcher and small heater.

Each piece is natural, humble and a true servant to tea.

I have not seen any other potter use a water tower like Jong Il's. It is usually placed in a bowl and is used both for washing a number of bowls and a number of cups stacked inside each other. The hot water on the cups heats them, a common practice.

Park Jong Il's work is particularly prized by Seon Zen monks and tea masters who look for the natural.

Many Korean artists believe that tea ware should be simple because in essence the purpose of tea ware is to serve. They should have personality but not be too proud or boisterous. They should invoke a quiet sensitive state of mind. The tea ware should not overpower the tea. The work should be natural because all the contrivances we can come up with to “enhance” tea ware pale in comparison to what happens naturally in a simple wood or even gas firing. It is easy to create flamboyant, whimsical or outlandish work we call tea ware. Far more difficult is creating tea wares that truly serve.

More importantly, Park Jong Il's work is directly connected to his life. In part that is why I selected Park Jong Il to introduce first. The life and work of a good Korean potter are one. Hamada Shoji once said, “I think there are hardly any pots in the world through which a people’s life breathes more directly as Korean ones, especially Yi dynasty wares.” From Hamada Potter by Bernard Leach. I believe that Park Jong Il embodies that same spirit.

We will look at some of Park Jong Il's cups and tea bowls on our next post.
(Well obviously I didn't do that for the next post.)
We have some good comments on this post. I recommend that you read them.

A Tea Ware Artist's Tea Gallery

2010-01-07T22:32:00.000-08:00

View From Park Jong Il's Home and Tea Gallery

There is an old Korean saying, “Behind every mountain is another mountain.” The mountains of Korea are magnificent so it is no wonder that many temples are built there, In the mountains one is close to nature and nature and the natural are at the core of Korean aesthetics and philosophy.

Park Jong Il, a very spiritual tea ware artist, selected a spot near the top of a mountain to build his home and tea gallery. His home and tea gallery were built by hand from raw clay and naturally hewn trees in the same manner that many ancient Korean potters built their homes and studios.
Being a tea ware artist has many facets. We hope to introduce you to the lives of tea ware artists, both past and present, by discussing aspects of their lives. Join us as we explore the story of tea ware.

Tea Gallery Exterior Under Construction

Tea Gallery Interior Under Construction

The Exterior After Completion

The interior after completion

For a tea lover it is interesting that the clay to build the walls of this tea gallery came from the historic tea mountains of Jirisan near Hadong. It is the same source of clay for many old tea bowls. Trees from the mountains were hewn to support the tea gallery. They contribute to the feeling of being close to nature while in the gallery.

To answer Matt's comment (below) and his question about the roof I decided to add a couple of photos and write a little more about Jong Il before introducing his work to you.

Jong Il is a simple, spiritual and sensitive potter living high in the mountains. While there are many tea ware artists in Korea, only a few have reached the level of financial success necessary to permit them to do everything they would like to do to their home or gallery. While a thatch roof would be very attractive and aesthetically compelling to have, they also demand considerable upkeep and can actually cause health problems. Jong Il would like to use handmade roof tiles but the labor and expense in currently prohibitive. In addition the art of creating tiled roofs by hand seems to be dying in Korea. As far as we can determine the only person left in Korea who makes roof tiles by hand is the human cultural treasure Han Hyun Jun who lives in Jangheung, Chollanamdo. Master Han is in his late 70's or early 80's and has great difficulty getting others to take up his laborious work. We my be posting about our friend Han Hyun Jun in a few months. So, in other words, Park Jong Il's roofs currently are composed of some contemporary materials that are visible in the following images.

Another View of the Tea Gallery

I decided to also post two images of the Park home. The first shows the chimney for their ondol heating system and the second a onggi pot made in Ulsan at the Oe-gosan Onggi Village. You can see and learn more about onggi at www.KoreanOnggi.com.

Park Jong Il's Home Showing Chimney

Park Jomg Il's Home with Ulsan Onggi

I know that you have been wondering what his work looks like. So I'll be posting several pieces. The first two images show his solution to "water and fire".

These water pots look a lot like Western tea pots but combined with their "fire bowls" they are used simply to keep the water for tea hot. Jong Il has several solutions for handling the water for tea. I'll show them in the next addition to this post.

I'll be introducing a number of ceramic tea artists on this blog - including some from other countries. In addition, I'll introduce you to some of Korea's teas. Matt is doing a great job at reviewing a number of great Korean teas on his blog so I suggest you visit his blog for more immediate information on tea. He also looks at some great tea ware artists as well. Many of whom we have known for years and will be reviewing more in depth here.

The Zen of Tea

2009-12-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

With permission of An Sonjae (Brother Anthony) from Panyaro: The Korean Way of Tea. In Korean Seon is Zen. Korea has the purest form of Zen in the world.

The Zen of Tea

The ‘Way of Tea’ takes the simple, everyday gestures of making and drinking tea and makes of them a spiritual ‘way’.

The ‘Zen of Tea’ suggests that in drinking tea in such a manner, one touches the edge of an intuitive meditation.

Zen is a reality that can never be explained in words or writing. Zen is a concentrating, a positive awareness.

Zen is above all free and creative, and subjective too.

Zen offers a short-cut by which to reach a limitless individuality.

Just like tea.

All you need to do is prepare tea and savor on the tip of your tongue its six tastes: bitter, tart, sour, salt, spicy-hot, and sweet.

Tea and Zen should constantly govern and guide both body and mind; only so can such a level be attained.

Therefore people have said, ‘tea and Zen have a single taste,’ and also, ‘tea and Zen are one.’

Morning Crane Tea

2009-12-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

I had been to Korea before on sabbatical when I worked as a potter in Icheon. This trip was different. It was the first time Mary, my wife, had been there. We were traveling in Chollanamdo following a slow moving river, when I saw several cranes soaring past a grove of bamboo. It was early and the morning light flashed on their wings. Just ahead, to the right across the river, we spotted a large tree, bare except for what seemed like a thousand cranes and a few heron adorning its branches. It was their nesting tree. Crossing a small very narrow wooden bridge, we approached the tree. There it stood in all its glory, a testimony to nature. I have a video somewhere of that tree and those cranes and heron. When I get a chance and learn how to create a movie and place it into this blog, you will find it here.

Leap forward a dozen years and two dozen trips to Korea later and you find us just as fascinated by the wonderful country of my ancestors. In particular you find us fascinated by Korean tea and Korean tea ware. I have come to believe that Korean Tea and Tea ware are major links to understanding more fully Korea’s history and many aspects of its culture.There is something compelling about tea that goes far beyond the ordinary. Each morning I sit with a Korean tea cup, small, no handle, subtle in color and form, fitting my hand like no other. It is filled with Korean green tea - picked early in the spring - warm to both the hand and heart. Those moments take me away from the blur of daily life to peace and clarity. For me, that is ‘tea’.

I suppose each of us has their moment of ‘tea’ or we would not be interested in this blog. We have discovered the compelling nature of tea. For me that time comes from that perfect joining of Korean tea and Korean tea cup.

We just returned from a tour to Korea where we traveled into the mountains near Gangjin to Baekryeonsa and sat with a monk who served us an aged ‘red’ tea in cake form, made only at this temple - a rediscovery of the tea made there during the Koryo Dynasty.

Koreans and Japanese have long known about Korean tea but Korean tea is little known in the Western world. Few books on tea contain any information on Korean tea. However, knowledgeable tea connoisseurs have reported that handpicked and processed Korean green teas are among the best green teas in the world. It is said of Korean green tea that it has both the taste of Luan tea and the healing-powers of Mengshan tea.

At the same time, knowledgeable tea ware connoisseurs have reported that hand formed Korean tea bowls are historically the finest tea bowls in the world. Even today, many tea ware connoisseurs from around the world, but principally from Japan, travel to Korea to find outstanding tea bowls. They have been known to pay enormous prices for new Korean tea bowls and present prestigious awards to Korean tea ware potters. Most books that include information on tea bowls include long descriptions of selected Korean examples. The famous book An Unknown Craftsman: a Japanese Insight Into Beauty by Japan’s famous aesthetician Soetsu Yanagi includes an entire chapter on one very humble Korean teabowl.*

Kizaemon Ido Chawan

The discrepancy between the appreciation of Korean tea and Korean tea ware is enormous. We hope this blog, the web site and our tea tour will begin to pave the way toward a greater appreciation for Korean tea so that one day the two worlds of Korean tea, tea ware and tea, will both be greatly appreciated.

On my first trip to Korea, now more than thirty years ago, a friend took me to visit a potter. The potter’s work was very Korean, made of porcelain and at first glance simple, humble and plain - quiet in its subtle beauty. As we sat, the potter’s daughter, dressed in a simple white hanbok, walked slowly into the room carrying a tray on which were works by her father. Quietly she placed the tray on the low table and sat on the floor. It was fascinating to watch her first warm the bowl and cups with hot water and then with graceful fluid movements simply prepare tea. I had never experienced tea like that before. The flavor was so profound, the poetic moment unforgettable. It was not a ceremony, but it was the Korean way of tea.

In their book The Korean Way of Tea, Brother Anthony of Taize and Hong Kyeong-Hee write:

‘Sitting in a traditional Korean house, with doors and windows open to the early morning sunshine, the taste of the first cup of tea, made with water that is far below boiling point, on a palate freshly awakened, is so intense, so indescribably fragrant, that from that day on the only question can be: ‘When shall I be able to go back and drink that tea again?’

That too is the Korean way of tea.

Recently, we traveled high into the mountains near Gyeongju, the capitol of Silla at the time when tea was first introduced into Korea. There we visited a potter who had made his home and tea gallery from raw clay and from trees hewn from the mountain. With his simple natural tea ware, lightly glazed or just kissed by the now melted fly ash during the firing, we sat as he prepared tea. First powdered tea, using his tea bowls, was presented. Then, in another area, prepared by his wife, infused tea (possibly from hand picked and processed wild tea) was presented using his teapot, cooling bowl and cups. It was a tea ware spiritual awakening. That too is the Korean way of tea. (see Jan 2010 post)

It is these experiences and more that have guided us to create this blog and web site with more information on Korean tea and tea ware and invite you to join us in experiencing the Korean way of tea on an unparalleled Korean tea tour.

It is not a commercial tea tour highlighting the Korean movies filmed at one of Bosong’s tea plantations. Your tea tour will be in-depth and will highlight both quality Korean tea and quality Korean tea ware. Please go to our web site www.TeaTourKorea.com to learn more.

Please also don't be concerned that this blog is 'commercial'. The blog has not been created to advertise the tour, although I can see where you might believe that from this first post. It has been created to begin to introduce you to Korean tea and Korean tea ware. The tour was happening so I thought that you or your friends would like to know about it. In any case it is non-profit so it is not really 'commercial' in any case.

I have web sites that have more information than you will find here and even a more commercial web site source where you may be able to try some Korean green tea and purchase a tea cup or other tea ware. But that is just to help support this effort to provide information on Korean arts and culture. This blog will simply try to provide information on Korean tea and tea ware. We hope you enjoy it and we hope to hear from you.