The UK’s first Korean tea bar, or ‘hanok’ in Korean, is brought to you by Sooji Im, a former management consultant who found that overseeing $600m infrastructure projects was not her ‘cup of tea.’
Instead, inspired by such umami rich delights as the Hadong black tea which she savoured in the country of her birth, Im decided to import hand-picked examples sourced in person from third and fourth generation tea producers in the most renowned tea gardens of Korea.
These are gently brewed in Im’s bijou, detailed haven of a tea showroom off Exmouth Market. Called ‘Be-oom’ which means ‘to empty’ in Korean, Im, a keen meditator, intends this sentiment to apply to the minds of her guests as well as their teacups.
With drinks consultant and friend, Zoe Burgess – a founding partner of East London’s Untitled bar – Im had the idea of opening Be-oom late, Thursday to Saturday to dispense tea-enriched cocktails such as the intense ‘Black’ which combines Hadong black tea-infused…