Ginseng Museum Cafe by CheongKwanJang
315 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 685-1003
Open Sunday 12:00pm-6:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm
My review on TripAdvisor:
The Ginseng Museum Cafe by CheongKwanJang is a combination small museum of the development of the ginseng root for tea and its history, part cafe for tea and part store. This small store front is packed with information on the history and processing of ginseng.
The Ginseng Museum Cafe at 315 Fifth Avenue
To the right of the store, is the video history of the company and how they process and produce their product which is very interesting. The conditions that the ginseng is processed under may have advanced over the years but not by much. There is still a lot of care that is used to make the tea. There is also a display on the extractions.
The museum section of the store describes the process of producing ginseng
Next to it is the video history of the ginseng from its development to the processing and then the export and business of the product for trade from the 1800’s to today. It is impressive how the product is still very specialized and very expensive to produce and sell.
To the right of the store are all the products that the store sells from the extracts and teas to the roots themselves. Some of these items are worth several hundred dollars telling me that this is for a very particular customer.
The retail section of the Ginseng Museum Cafe
The combination store/museum tells the whole story of ginseng and a nice place to stop and not just sample the product but learn its story and history. There are also beautifully wrapped products for sale for all occasions.
It’s a beautiful little store in the heart of Koreatown in Manhattan.
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