Jidaebang 지대방

Wooden shelves in this Insadong teahouse hold Jidaebang Ilgi, a run of yearly guestbooks, and old handwritten notes still cover the walls. Returning visitors hunt for what they wrote years ago and add a new line before leaving. The teahouse has been open since 1999, and some families make it their stop at the end of every year. Ssanghwa-cha, a dark herbal tonic tea, comes heaped with nuts and arrives with candied ginger and yugwa puffed-rice sweets. Jujube tea is only mildly sweet, and ginger flower tea is served with a thermos of hot water for slow refills. Wild teas such as maehwa (plum blossom) and wild peach sit alongside red bean porridge, and omija bingsu, shaved ice flavored with five-flavor berry, joins the menu in summer.