TEA MUSEUM: A New Tea Room In Seoul's Bukchon Village

This must be the only tea room in Seoul where you can be seated on a balcony in a quiet neighborhood and with a view of the foliage of a palace while sipping dandelion tea and eating scones. 

The Tea Museum, which just opened a week ago, is perfectly located just right next to Changdeokgung or Changdeok Palace.  Originally a residence, the place was transformed by David and Jade Kilburn into an art space and a tea room, that serves different kinds of unique tea blends from all over the world as well as cakes, scones, salads and other baked goodies.

I regretted arriving late afternoon on my first ever visit. The view from its balcony of Changdeok Palace's Secret Garden under the bright daylight would have been an enjoyable experience while sipping tea.

And as the Tea Museum's maxim goes, 'Relax with Tea', I was able to enjoy a late afternoon dandelion tea with David and conversations over spoonfuls of Rose Petal Scone and the Tea Museum's Chocolate Hibiscus made with gluten-free flour from France and Belgian chocolate. They bake their own products by the way, and according to Jade, the master chef, the ingredients they use for their bread, cakes and salads are organic, and the teas are sourced only from the best around the world. With more than a decade of experience in the international tea business, David and Jade know best about tea.

On one corner of the second floor is an art space, where an exhibition of the work of Miss Bada Song, an interdisciplinary Korean artist based in London, is ongoing.

So, if you're a tea lover and just want to enjoy tea with friends or family on the most quiet corner of Seoul, just head off to Bukchon Village. From Exit 3 of Anguk Station, go straight for about 240 meters towards the Changdeok Palace. Once you reach the corner BEFORE the Palace, turn left and walk straight, tracing the Palace walls for about 280 meters. If you see the Yongsusan restaurant, the Tea Museum is about 80 meters ahead. Just watch out for its sky blue entrance, and there are a few parking spaces in front next to the Palace walls.

They have a garden and a space on the first floor perfect for family gatherings and meetings. They have wi-fi all over and a balcony with the view of the foliage of Changdeok Palace's Secret Garden. 

How many tea rooms in Seoul can actually boast of a view of a UN World Heritage Site?

                         (A garden path to Tea Museum)

                            (A tea room with a balcony!)

                                       (The first floor)

                          (Jade and David Kilburn)

                        (One of Bada Song's works on exhibit 
                          on the second floor art space)

 (The second floor decorated with wall papers from England)

                      (A warm cup of dandelion tea for me)

                   (A freshly baked rose-petal scone for me!)

                           (David's Chocolate Hibiscus cake 
          made from French flour and Belgian chocolate) 

                                      (A tea room with a view!)

(Tea with the autumn foliage of 

Changdeok Palace's Secret Garden)

Here's Tea Museum's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/TeaMuseum

Tea Museum's website where you can purchase tea online:

http://www.teamuseum.kr/

                               (A map to the Tea Museum)