What is Kudzu Tea?

Kudzu tea is a single-use tea bag product made from processed kudzu roots. Simply place a kudzu tea bag in hot water and steep for 2-3 minutes to fully enjoy the unique taste and aroma of the kudzu root. Kudzu tea is a health-focused herbal tea. Here is a brief introduction to kudzu, the main ingredient of this tea.

Kudzu

Kudzu is a perennial vine belonging to the Fabaceae (pea) family and the Pueraria genus. As it is native to Asian regions, including Korea, China, and Japan, kudzu has been used for food and health purposes in Korea for many years. In the West, however, kudzu is not used for food or health but is instead considered a troublesome plant. This is because kudzu vine leaves blanket other plants, blocking their photosynthesis and causing them to die. Regardless of whether other plants survive, kudzu continues to grow its vine leaves to perform photosynthesis and store starch in its roots. Humans extract this starch from kudzu roots to make kudzu cold noodles and kudzu noodles.

Kudzu vines extend by putting out new shoots, and in the summer, these shoots grow very rapidly, sometimes as much as 30cm in a single day. Due to the powerful growth energy of these shoots, humans use all parts of the kudzu plant—roots, leaves, flowers, and seeds—for health. We process kudzu into various forms such as decoctions, teas, powders, and pills, or make ointments for topical application. Furthermore, kudzu is used to make textiles, wallpaper, ropes, baskets, and mats. Because kudzu was a highly useful plant to our ancestors, it is referred to as the "Pearl of the Earth." The reason it is considered a pest in the West is simply because Westerners were unaware of its uses and preparation methods; in other words, there is no "kudzu culture" in the West.

Etymology of "Chik" (Kudzu)

Since kudzu is native to our land and our ancestors encountered it frequently for thousands of years, it is clear that they had a name for it, though the etymology is unclear. It is a fact that it was recorded as 'Chul' in the 15th century when Hangul was created, and changed to 'Chik' in the 19th century, which is the term we use today. The Hanja character for kudzu is 葛, and its pronunciation was noted as 'Jileul' (叱乙). Before the creation of Hangul, the pronunciation of 葛 was 'Jileul', but after the invention of Hangul, it was recorded as the Hangul 'Chul'. While 'Jileul' (叱乙) would be pronounced as such today, it was closer to 'Chul' at the time. Therefore, it is reasonable to view the evolution as 叱乙 > Chul > Chik.

Origin of the Hanja Term for Kudzu Root

The Hanja term for kudzu root is Galgeun(葛根). Beyond the general meaning of "kudzu root," Galgeun has a very special meaning: "The root of the person with the surname Gal." Legend has it that there was once a sole survivor of a family named Gal(葛), which had been ruined for political reasons. To make a living, he sold plant roots and appended his own surname, Gal(葛), to the root, calling it "Galgeun." Thus, the surname Gal existed in the world before the plant's name did.

History of Kudzu

Kudzu appears from the very beginning of the recorded history of China, which has a longer written history than Korea. Kudzu first appeared in records from the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), and it debuted as a health ingredient in the "Shennong Ben Cao Jing" (Classic of Herbal Medicine), presumed to be from the Qin and Han Dynasties. In Korea, kudzu first appeared in the "Samguk Yusa" (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), which contains early historical records, and it first appeared as a health ingredient in the "Dongui Bogam" (Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine) during the Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, we know that humans have used kudzu for food and health for at least 2,000 years, and that our ancestors have known and utilized it since the Three Kingdoms period.

"Female" Kudzu and "Male" Kudzu

Kudzu produces bisexual flowers(兩性花) that contain both pistils and stamens within a single blossom. Therefore, there are no separate female or male flowers, nor are there female or male plants, so "female kudzu" and "male kudzu" are not terms used in plant taxonomy. However, people call tough, slippery kudzu roots with little juice and a bitter taste "Male Kudzu," while calling plump, tender, juicy, and sweet roots "Female Kudzu." These are terms created by people to distinguish the appearance of kudzu roots.

From a consumer's perspective, it is difficult to judge which is "better," but from a purely commercial standpoint, "female" kudzu is preferred because it yields more raw juice. When used for health, however, "male" kudzu has its own advantages over "female" kudzu. Below is a picture of the kudzu flower; though not clearly visible in the photo, it is a bisexual flower(兩性花) containing 10 stamens and 1 pistil inside the purple petals.

Components of Kudzu Root

Below is the general composition table of kudzu root published by the Rural Development Administration of Korea. "Dry weight basis" in parentheses below means the values were measured with moisture removed.

Kudzu Root Composition Analysis Table (Rural Development Administration, 2011, Dry Weight Basis)

The general composition of kudzu root is 91% carbohydrates, and it is characterized by an extremely high starch content. Here are a few important, special, and trace components of kudzu:

In addition to Korea, kudzu starch obtained from kudzu roots and kudzu flowers are widely used as ingredients for tea and food in China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and other regions.

The product is supplied by Onyudam (CEOs: Yoon Sung-hyun, Jo Su-in) and manufactured by Hapcheon Herbal Processing Farming Association Corporation (CEO: Baek Mun-gi). CEO Baek, having managed a medicinal plant farm for over 20 years with his parents, established the Hapcheon Herbal Processing Farming Association Corporation in 1996 and built a processing plant the following year. He first received a $500,000 export award in 2003 and served as the 17th-18th president of the Korea Herbal Medicine Association.

The Hapcheon Herbal Processing Farming Association Corporation cultivates about 60 types of medicinal plants, including chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, mulberry, persimmons, peonies, achyranthes, safflower, motherwort, schisandra, goji berries, cornus fruit, astragalus, green tea, actinidia, and bellflower, in Hapcheon-eup, where the association is located, to use as raw materials for health teas. The association sells its products through domestic and international distribution channels and also supplies products to other companies through OEM manufacturing.

The Hapcheon Herbal Processing Farming Association Corporation received the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Award in 2002, registered the trademark 'Sangrime' in 2007, received the ISO22000 international food safety management certification in 2015, and was registered as a venture business in the same year. They patented a bellflower tea manufacturing method in 2017, received HACCP certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (No. 2018-2-9156) in 2018, and received organic certification for chrysanthemum crops (No. 17100199) in 2019, solidifying its status as a strong small business. A brief introduction to the Hapcheon Herbal Processing Farming Association Corporation is provided below.

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