Records from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks.

[2] Important national rituals involving tea drinking were being presided over by the government officials of the "Tabang" department.

[3] There is at least one ritual recorded in the Goryeosa Yaeji, or The Official History of Goryeo, mentioned as part of receiving a Chinese messenger to the court.

[6] However, by the middle of the Joseon dynasty, there appears to have been a decline in tea drinking except for the anniversary ceremonies.

"[7] Towards the end of the Joseon dynasty, commoners joined the trend and used tea for ancestral rites.

It started from Silla and Goryeo dynasty that monks formed and administered tea forests around temples and the tradition passed down as their possession.

[6] After the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, tea culture in Korea became rare, scarce, and was largely forgotten.

[8] In 1973 Lee Gwilye began researching the classics, and in 1979 she founded the Korean Tea People's Association.

An aesthetic of rough surface texture from a clay and sand mix with thin glazing was particularly prized and copied.

Glazing has a very rich texture and variations between many tones occur that change colour according to light and season.

With two hands, the tea would be poured into smaller matching cups with covers, and placed on a rough wood or lacquer table.

Autumn and winter tea equipment consisted of taller narrower bowls, such as the "irabo" style, that would contain and maintain heat.

Unlike the Chinese tradition, no Korean tea vessels used in the ceremony are tested for a fine musical note.

Central to the Korean approach to tea is an easy and natural coherence, with fewer formal rituals, fewer absolutes, greater freedom for relaxation, and more creativity in enjoying a wider variety of teas, services, and conversation.

This leads to a wider variance of teahouse design, tea garden entries and gardens, different use and styles of teawares, and regional variations in the choice of tea, choice of cakes and biscuits and snacks, seasonal and temporal variations, and the acoustic and visual ambiance of Korean teahouses.

Tea storage containers were often large – being made of clay coils, finished on potter's wheels, and 3/4 glazed from within the kiln itself as wood burned.

Generally the best local water is used to make the tea, and at times some of the best Korean teahouses had their own small springs.

Tea ceremonies have always been used for important occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and remembrance of old friends, and are increasingly a way to rediscovering the joys of Seon meditation.

Then, the host will pour the hot water into the decanting bowl and allow it to cool to the correct temperature for the tea they are using.

Korean teas were divided into the five different tastes: bitterness, sweetness, astringency, saltiness and "sourness".

Teas also evoke four kinds of thought for Korean Buddhists: peacefulness, respectfulness, purity and quietness.

All of the tea leaf is consumed and it contains higher amounts of vitamin C, tannins and polyphenols.

With the advent of Christianity in Korea, this kind of meditation tea is viewed as Buddhist and is largely ignored by many, based solely on religious beliefs.

Hyodang was also the first to give ordinary readers an awareness of the significance of the life of the Venerable Ch'o-ui, the early 19th century tea master, through a series of articles published in a popular newspaper.

In 1981 Chae Won-hwa launched what became the Panyaro Institute for the Promotion of the Way of Tea, and by November 1995 she had established a formal graduation ceremony for those who had completed the full course of study.