Traditional Drinks
Teas and alcoholic drinks are important pillars of Korean cuisine. There are leaf teas and infusions made from just about any plant. Drinking alcohol at meals is common with the most popular being beer and soju, a traditional liquor. Western alcohols have taken over the market but recently traditional drinks have made a comeback with small craft producers.
The first tea plants were brought to Korea in the 9th century from China and planted in the Southern regions.
Eating fried chicken with beer is so popular that it’s introduced the term chi-maek to the common lexicon. It’s a portmanteau of chicken and maekju; the korean word for beer.
Traditional alcohols are mainly derived from a base “mother wine” made by fermenting rice. Different varieties are produced by filtering and distilling the mother wine. Also, grains, fruits, and other flavorings can be added to create endless varieties of alcohol.
To brew the base rice wine, cooked rice and water is incorporated with a natural fermentation starter called nuruk. After fermentation is complete, the clear alcohol floating on top is first ladled off. This yellow-tinged rice wine is called cheongju. The remaining liquid and sediment is then pressed and diluted with water to make makgeolli, an opaque and milky rice wine. The clear cheongju can be further refined to make soju, the strongest of the traditional liquors.
Anju is the term for foods that are served with alcohol. Food almost always accompanies alcohol and there’s a whole system of pairing alcohols and food. This makes restaurants the best places to sample Korean drinks. For those looking for more informative and hands-on experiences, there are alcohol making classes that explain the histories and processes behind the drinks.
Since its introduction over 1,200 years ago, tea has been an important part of Korean culture. Today, Korea is well known for its green teas, especially the teas from the plantations in Boseong or Jeju. Other than teas, there is a long-standing practice of drinking infusions of grains, nuts, fruits, flowers, and medicinal herbs. As different plants are believed to have different health benefits, teas and infusions are widely used in traditional medicine.
Due to tea’s ubiquity, visitors to Korea have many opportunities to try out a variety of teas during their visits. Many restaurants serve grain teas in place of water and even corporations like Starbucks hop on the seasonal tea trends. It is possible to go more in-depth into Korean tea culture. There are many tea shops where people can learn about traditional teas and teaware. And at tea plantations, you can sample the teas and participate in tea ceremonies to learn how to prepare tea in the traditional way.