A Taste of History: Korean Tea Snacks.

Traditional Korea Tea Sncak, “Dasik”. ©Heesum.

Traditional Korean tea snacks, known as dasik, are small in appearance but carry deep meaning. At first glance, they may seem like delicate sweets shaped into flowers or classic patterns, but they are more than ornamental treats. These confections are tied to Korea’s tea heritage and the quiet rituals that connect family, seasons, and memory.

Tea snack plays important role in the Tea Ceremony. ©Heesum.

Dasik has been part of Korean culture since the Goryeo Dynasty. The word itself blends the characters for tea and food, pointing to its original role as something to be enjoyed with tea. Its shape was inspired by compressed tea cakes that once circulated in Korea and China, and its use was ceremonial. Carefully stacked on ritual tables during holidays or memorial services, dasik was a symbol of sincerity and good will. Offering them was not simply about taste, but about intention.

At Heesum, we carry this gentle tradition forward through a class that brings together history, hands-on craft, and mindful tasting. Our tea snack making and tasting experience is slow by design. It gives you space to connect to the past and feel the presence of each step as it unfolds.

Making tea snack with Korean traditional wooden mold. ©Heesum.

The session begins with a quiet welcome. We offer a glass of misutgaru, a traditional Korean drink made from roasted grain powder and milk. Once used as a quick and nourishing meal for travelers, it is smooth, nutty, and deeply comforting. This small moment helps you pause and settle before the class begins, letting the noise of the outside world fall away.

Next, we introduce the history of dasik in a simple and engaging way. We explain where it came from, how it was used, and why it matters. Understanding its cultural roots adds weight to what you will soon make with your hands. You begin to see that even small sweets can carry stories, and that those stories come alive through repetition and ritual.

Tea snack and its natural ingredients. ©Heesum.

After this brief storytelling, we show you the ingredients. You will work with three types of traditional powders: black sesame, mugwort, and roasted multigrain.

No added sugar, just healthy amount of 100% pure Honey. ©Heesum.

Each one has its own aroma, color, and character. Mixed with honey, these powders become a pliable dough that is soft and easy to shape. The simplicity of the ingredients makes the process feel grounded and approachable.

Tea master Songa is specialized in the Joseon Royal Court Tea Ceremony. ©Heesum.

Now comes the core of the experience. Using traditional wooden molds, you press the dough into shape with your own hands.

Making the tea snack following traditional methods. ©Heesum.

This is not rushed or mechanical. We encourage you to go slowly, to feel the texture of the dough, and to press with care. Each shape emerges with gentle effort, and as you release the dasik onto your plate, you begin to notice how satisfying it is to make something by hand. It often reminds guests of childhood play, but with a sense of quiet focus.

After making the snacks, guests are served premium Korean tea. ©Heesum.

Once the sweets are finished and arranged, we shift to the tea table. The tea is brewed in a traditional way and poured slowly, giving you time to observe its color and aroma. Tasting the dasik alongside the tea creates a quiet harmony—the mild sweetness of the snack draws out the tea’s depth, and the warmth of the tea brings a soft finish to the bite.

©Heesum.

We close the class with a short moment of reflection. There is no formal ending, just a quiet invitation to notice how you feel.

©Heesum.

At Heesum, this class is not about teaching a skill in the usual sense. It is about offering a moment of stillness. It is about helping you reconnect to something simple and human—the joy of making, the act of sharing, the taste of a story passed down through time. You leave not only with sweets you shaped yourself, but with a memory that lingers gently, like the last sip of tea.

“This sounds great, I’d like to make some memory now.”

Jason

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Jason runs Heesum, a traditional Korean tea room in Seoul where guests can experience a hands-on Korean tea ceremony. With a background in journalism and past work as a writer for a global Fortune 10 company, he brings both storytelling and hospitality to the tea table. A passionate painter, photographer, and long-time tea lover, Jason now co-hosts Heesum’s tea sessions with certified tea master Songna, who guides each ceremony with deep knowledge and warmth. If you’re looking for an authentic Korean tea ceremony in Seoul, Heesum offers a personal and culturally rich experience.