8 Best Korean Tea Brands In 2023

Wondering which Korean tea for weight loss to buy? Try these Korean tea brands including ones like Ollusoc tea leaves and other Korean milk tea brands and green tea brands.

What do Koreans, Indians, Japanese, Chinese and many other Asian countries have in common? Their fascination with tea, of course!

It’s no wonder that there are several Korean tea brands, as tea is one of the most beverages in South Korea.

Related: Drinking Water Brands In Korea

Related: Must Try Korean Soft Drinks

However, just like the variety Koreans have with skincare products and food, their teas too aren’t just your regular green and blacks.

You can find a variety of flavors, blends, and herbs. And the best Korean tea brands give you a wide range of choices. 

Best Korean Tea Brands	Founded In Year	Teas Available
Dong Suh	1968	Buckwheat tea, Brown Rice Green Tea, Purple Corn, and Solomon’s Seal
Osulloc Tea	1979	Volcanic Rock Semi-Fermented Tea, Samdayeon, Matcha, Rooibos, Green Tea
Nokchawon	1992	Bitter Melon, Korean Corn, Honey Citron, and Korean Ginseng Tea
Ssanggye	1975	Burdock tea, Chrysanthemum tea, Hydrangea, Bellflower, Roasted Green Tea
Damtuh	1983	Honey Ginger, Honey Tangerine, Agave Ginger, Burdock, Barley, Roasted Grains, Mugwort, Corn Silk and Walnut Almond
Lotte Chilsung Beverage	1967	Lipton Ice Tea Peach, Golden Barley Tea, Burdock Tea, Korean Raisin Tea, Corn Silk Tea, Ceylon Tea, Lipton Milk Tea, and Cantata Contrabass Tea
Ilhwa Korean Ginseng	1971	Ginseng Tea
Ottogi	1969	Honey Ginger, Honey Jujube, Peach Iced Tea, Pomegranate, Cassia Seed, Brown Rice Green tea, Chinese Yam, Sweet Potato

How I tested the best Korean tea brands?

There are several top Korean brands for tea, and I tested a few products from the most popular ones. After that, I rated them on a scale of 1-5 based on the following factors:

• Variety of flavors: The best Korean tea brands should have a wide range of tea flavors and blends for their customers to choose from.
• Quality of blend: The tea leaves, herbs, and other ingredients should be of best quality and sourced from a reputable supplier. 
• Price: Of course, this is a top priority as Koreans consume tea on a regular basis. So it cannot be too expensive. 

What kind of tea is popular in Korea?

There are several blends which were traditionally prepared in Korea since the medieval times. These can be divided into leaf teas, flower teas, bark teas, grain teas, etc. depending on the brew. Some of the best Korean teas include:

• Ginseng Tea – Insam-cha
• Green Tea – Nok-cha
• Pine Needle Tea -Sollip-cha
• Chrysanthemum tea – Gukhwa-cha
• Lotus Leaf Tea – Yeonnip-cha
• Jujube Tea – Daechu-cha
• Plum Tea – Maesil-cha – 
• Five Flavors Tea – Omija-cha 
• Citron Tea – Yuja-cha
• Barley Tea – Bori-cha 
• Cinnamon Tea – Gyepi-cha
• Angelica Root Tea – Danggwi-cha
• Ginger Tea – Saenggang-cha

Have you ever tried '생강차 (Saenggang-cha)' before? ? Made from ginger root and honey, this #Korean tea is known as the "remedy for winter blues" as it will warm you from head to toe. ? pic.twitter.com/tYdMXGxk0c

— Inspire Me Korea (@InspireMeKorea) January 15, 2019

Top Korean Tea Brands 2022

Dong Suh

Dong Suh was always a leader in the Korean FMCG industry, so it’s no wonder that they are the top of the cream in Korean tea brands as well.

Their tea manufacturing unit boasts of the strictest quality control and food hygiene standards. So you can be sure that all Dong Suh teas would be the very best. 

And what amazed me most was despite the love for quality, their teas are all very easy on your pocket.

This Korean tea brand was founded in 1968 and is currently owned by Jong-Won Kim and Chang-Hwan Lee. They have an excellent reputation for R&D and their packaging department is also quite admired. 

You can find several healthy tea varieties from Dong Suh. There’s the best-selling Buckwheat tea, Brown Rice Green Tea, Purple Corn among other exotic blends. 

But they’ve also got the classics like Rooibos Barley and Solomon’s Seal. 

Pros:

• Great value as you can get over 100 packets in one tea box for an inexpensive price
• Have varieties including buckwheat, purple corn flavors and more

Cons:

• None according to me

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 4.5/5
• Quality of blend: 5/5
• Price: 4.5/5

Osulloc Tea

The story behind the Korean tea brand Osulloc is quite interesting. It was founded in 1979 by  Seo Seong Hwan. 

Now  Seo Seong Hwan was a tea aficionado who was very disappointed in the modern disregard for tea.

He loved traditional Korean tea drinking culture and all the traditions and rituals that went with it. So he decided to create Osulloc to get South Korean folks interested in tea again. 

After dedicating years to cultivating teas in abandoned farmlands in Jeju Island, his work finally bore fruit. 

Most Osulloc Korean teas, cultivated in Jeju island, have USDA, FSC, and Carbon Footprint certifications. They are also 100 percent organic as well. 

There are several varieties of teas, including the classics like green tea, Matcha, Rooibos, etc. and exotic flavors like Volcanic Rock semi-fermented tea, Samdayeon fermented tea, Korean pear tea, and more. 

Pros:

• Available in both loose leaves and tea bag varities
• A wide range of tea flavors and strains including matcha, rooibos and more exotic ones like volcanic tea

Cons:

• Price can be a bit high, especially for the quantity given

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 5/5
• Quality of blend: 5/5
• Price: 3.5/5

Nokchawon

Nokchawon is one of the Korean tea brands that supplies tea blends to Michelin star restaurants, airports, luxury hotels and the like. 

They have large tea plantations in the Sacheon and Boseong, two large districts in the North region of South Korea.

The Camellia Sinensis or tea plants grown in this region are smaller and greener than the rest. This allows the green tea manufactured by Nokchawon to keep it’s taste and smell for a long time. 

Nokchawon’s motto when it comes to their Korean teas is “fusion, food culture, and taste”. So you can find a large variety of flavors, fusion blends and exotic tea. 

My favorite was the green tea. But I also loved the Bitter Melon, Korean Corn, Honey Citron, and Korean ginseng teas. 

Pros:

• Nokchawon makes Korea’s finest fruit teas
• The tea bags are made of natural fiber so they are good for the environment

Cons:

• Only 40 tea bags in the box they have a very small size

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 4/5
• Quality of blend: 4.5/5
• Price: 4.5/5

Ssanggye

This Korean tea brand was famous for practising traditional Korean tea fermentation when it was started. 

But in recent years, Ssanggye has been in the news for developing an innovative practice called the white charcoal roasting and maturing technique in their tea manufacturing process.

This practice brings out the flavors in the tea and makes them taste better. 

SSanngye even received the President’s Award for Agricultural and Food Processing in 2005 for their contribution to the food sanitation culture in the tea industry.

You can very easily find this Korean tea in foreign markets as this brand caters to China, Canada, US, and several other countries as well.

What I liked most about SSanggye Korean tea, is that there are a lot of health benefits to several of its teas.

You can find teas for reducing blood sugar, hypertension, boosting immunity, and so many more.

There are also super nutritious blends like Burdock tea, Chrysanthemum tea, Hydrangea, Bellflower, Roasted Green Tea, etc. 

Pros:

• Teas curated to focus on health issues like immunity, hypertension, etc.
• Easily available in foreign supermarkets

Cons:

• Only 40 tea bags so it gives you less value for money
• Teas lack flavor even boiled at optimum temperature

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 4.5/5
• Quality of blend: 5/5
• Price: 4.5/5

Damtuh

Damtuh was first established in 1983 and limited itself to manufacturing sodas, syrups, powders, etc. But it was in 1990 that they started their tea line. 

What I like about Damtuh teas is they have very innovative varieties of tea. They have even got fruity teas in liquid form that you can consume cold. 

Another thing that impressed me about Damtuh is the high end quality control process they adopt while manufacturing teas.

From checking the quality of the ingredients to strict management of the brewing process, Damtuh ensures that your teas are the best Korean iced teas ever. 

You can choose from healthy tea flavors like Burdock, Barley, Roasted Grains, Mugwort, Corn Silk and Walnut Almond. 

Or you can go for the sweet, fruity varieties like Honey Ginger, Honey Tangerine, Agave Ginger, etc.

Pros:

• Extremely high quality control process
• Ready to drink fruit teas available
• Available in easy to make stick format

Cons:

• None

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 5/5
• Quality of blend: 5/5
• Price: 4.5/5

Lotte Chilsung Beverage

Okay, I understand that tea, or rather, the traditional Korean tea is not everyone’s well… cup of tea. 

So if you want to try out these Korean tea flavors without all the brewing and hot water, you can try the chilled tea versions from Lotte Chilsung Beverage.

Lotte Chilsung is one of the top Korean tea brands and partners with several well-known brands like Pepsi, Cantata, Del Monte, and more.

The tea beverages from Lotte are available in cans or bottles and you can drink it straight from the refrigerator. No strainer or tea kettle needed!

There are several delicious flavors like Peach, Burdock Tea, Lipton Milk Tea, Contata Lipton Milk Tea, Korean raisin tea and more.  

Pros:

• Ready to drink tea variety
• Do not need water or kettle to make it
• Refreshing drink can be had in the summers as well

Cons:

• No hot tea varieties here
• Teas focuses on taste more than health benefits

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 4/5
• Quality of blend: 3/5
• Price: 4.5/5

Ilhwa Korean Ginseng

Il Hwa is more of a Korean ginseng brand than a Korean tea brand. In fact, it is a market leader when it comes to Korean red ginseng. 

It’s been around for more than 40 years and the company’s expertise has gained it the title of “World Leader in Ginseng Science”.

Ih Hwa has been a pioneer of new techniques in growth, manufacturing, preservation, and cultivation of ginseng. 

They usually package their ginseng products in either the form of tea or tiny capsules. 

As the quality standards are top notch and very advanced technology is used to manufacture ginseng tea, it can be very expensive. 

But ginseng is considered a very efficient medicine for overall health. 

Pros:

• Very good health benefits including boosting immunity, stress relieving, improving cardiovascular function, antioxidant benefits, etc.

Cons:

• No variety in tea flavors as it’s mostly focused on ginseng
• Quite expensive

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 5/5
• Quality of blend: 5/5
• Price: 3/5

Ottogi

Ottogi is one of the largest manufacturing companies in South Korea. They started off making curry powder in 1969 and by the late 1990s they expanded into the tea manufacturing industry.

This Korean tea brand boasts of having the finest traditional Korean tea. So you’ll find blends like Chinese Yam, Sweet Potato, Cassia Seed, Pomegranate among the regular green tea varieties. 

Pros:

• Healthy and tasty tea blends

Cons:

• Hard to find the product in supermarkets
• Not enough variety available

My Ratings:

• Variety of flavors: 4.5/5
• Quality of blend: 4.5/5
• Price: 4.5/5

Tea drinking which was once considered a sacred art was on the decline in the modern world.  However, there is a newfound interest in this beverage, and the humble tea is now more popular than ever. 

A lot of Korean tea brands have capitalised on this tea mania and come up with innovative new products in addition to the classic Korean teas. 

You can take your pick from the teas mentioned above and start your own tea ritual everyday. Happy drinking!

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