Odi-cha: Korean Mulberry Tea Recipe & Health Benefits

 

Odi-cha

Ginger warms you from the inside out, and ginseng tastes like something between medicine and ceremony — but odi-cha (오디차), Korean mulberry tea, is different from both. It's quieter, sweeter, almost fruity, and its deep purple color alone tells you it belongs to a completely different family of Korean traditional tea. If you've never tried it, think of it as the gentle, unassuming cousin in my ongoing tea series.


A cup of Korean mulberry tea (odi-cha) on a purple cloth surrounded by fresh mulberries.

History & Origin

Mulberry trees (뽕나무, ppong-namu) have a long history in Korea, going back centuries to when the leaves were grown primarily to feed silkworms for the silk industry. The berries, or odi (오디), were something of a bonus — a seasonal treat that ripened in early summer and stained fingers and lips a deep violet-black. Because mulberry trees were planted so widely across the countryside for silk production, the fruit became a familiar, everyday snack in rural Korea rather than a rare delicacy.

Over time, people began drying the berries and leaves to brew into tea, valued as a way to use the fruit beyond its short fresh season. Mulberry leaf tea (뽕잎차) and mulberry berry tea (오디차) are technically two different drinks, but both come from the same tree and carry a similar place in Korean folk food culture — humble, practical, and tied closely to the rhythms of farming life.

Mulberry cultivation in Korea wasn't just a rural hobby — it was tied directly to the country's silk economy for hundreds of years. Entire villages once organized their farming calendars around the mulberry tree's growth cycle, since silkworms depended on a steady supply of fresh leaves. It's easy to forget, looking at a modern cup of odi-cha, that the tree it comes from once played such a central economic role in Korean history.

As Korea's silk industry declined through the 20th century, many of those mulberry orchards were left standing even after silk production slowed down. The trees kept growing, kept fruiting, and local communities simply shifted their relationship with them — from an industrial resource to a seasonal, everyday source of food and drink. In that sense, odi-cha carries a quiet kind of history: it's what remained after the original purpose of the tree faded, repurposed by home cooks who saw no reason to let the berries go to waste.

My Personal Story

I’ll be honest—unlike ginger or ginseng tea, I didn’t grow up drinking odi-cha regularly, so I don’t have a vivid childhood memory attached to it like I do with the others. What I do have are pieces I've picked up from older relatives and family friends: stories of mulberry trees growing near village houses, and children coming home with purple-stained hands and mouths after eating berries straight off the branch before they ever made it into a pot of tea.

I've heard it said that mothers and grandmothers would boil the leftover berries — the ones too soft or too ripe to eat fresh — into a simple tea rather than let them go to waste. It strikes me as a very Korean approach to food in general: nothing wasted, and a humble ingredient turned into something comforting almost by accident. I can't claim it as my own memory, but it's part of the larger story of odi-cha that's been passed down, and I think that's worth sharing honestly rather than pretending otherwise.

If any of you reading this grew up with odi-cha in your own home, I'd genuinely love to hear about it in the comments — this is one post where I'm learning alongside you.

How to Make It (Recipe)

Odi-cha can be made from fresh mulberries, dried mulberries, or mulberry tea bags/powder found at Korean grocery stores. Here's a simple version using dried mulberries, which are the easiest to find outside Korea.

Ingredients (makes about 2 cups):

  • 2 tablespoons dried mulberries (or 1/2 cup fresh mulberries)
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon honey or sugar (optional, to taste)
  • A few pine nuts or a thin slice of lemon for garnish (optional)

Steps:

  1. Rinse the dried mulberries briefly under cool water to remove any dust.
  2. Add the mulberries and water to a small pot and bring to a gentle boil.
  3. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10–15 minutes, until the water turns a rich purple-red color.
  4. Strain the berries out (or leave a few in for texture, depending on preference).
  5. Stir in honey or sugar if you'd like it sweeter.
  6. Pour into a cup and garnish with a few pine nuts floating on top, Korean tea-house style.

If you're using fresh mulberries, you can lightly mash them before simmering to release more color and flavor. Odi-cha is traditionally served warm, but it also makes a lovely chilled tea in summer, especially since mulberry season and hot weather overlap.

Health Benefits (Traditional Beliefs)

In Korean folk tradition, mulberries and mulberry tea have long been associated with a few gentle benefits:

🍇 Believed to support eye health and reduce eye fatigue 🍇 Traditionally thought to be good for the skin, thanks to its deep purple pigments 🍇 Said to help with digestion, especially after a heavy meal 🍇 Considered a mild, calming tea suitable for both children and elders 🍇 Thought to support healthy blood circulation in traditional home remedies

These beliefs aren't unique to odi-cha alone — they echo a broader theme in Korean home remedies, where deeply colored fruits and plants (think omija, bokbunja, and other dark berries) were traditionally linked to vitality and "clean blood," a folk concept older generations often referred to when explaining why certain foods were good for you. Mulberries fit neatly into that same tradition: their vivid purple color was seen, quite literally, as a visible sign of their nourishing quality, long before anyone talked about antioxidants or anthocyanins in scientific terms.

It's a good reminder that a lot of Korean tea culture developed through observation and repetition passed down through generations, not laboratory testing — which is part of what makes it interesting to explore today, even if we now understand the "why" differently than our grandmothers did.

Note: These are traditional beliefs, not medical claims.

Where to Buy in Adelaide

If you'd like to try odi-cha without making it from scratch, a few local spots are worth checking. Happy Mart and Family Mart both carry Korean tea sections that occasionally stock dried mulberries or mulberry tea bags, especially in the herbal tea aisle. It's also worth popping into the Korean grocers near Chinatown, where dried mulberries are sometimes sold in bulk bins alongside other dried fruits and traditional tea ingredients. Stock can be seasonal, so if one store is out, it's worth trying another — or asking staff directly, since some keep it behind the counter.

For those who'd rather order online, Korean grocery delivery services are another reliable option if your local stores don't have it in stock that week.

A Cup Worth Trying

Odi-cha may not have the bold kick of ginger tea or the deep earthiness of ginseng, but there's something quietly lovely about a tea that comes from something as simple as fruit that would otherwise go to waste. It's proof that Korean tea culture isn't only about grand traditions — sometimes it's just about making good use of what's growing right outside the door.

I'd love to know: have you ever tried mulberry tea, or grown up with mulberry trees where you live? Let me know in the comments below!

For more Korean tea recipes and stories, subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JeongmisSipandSpoon. And follow the blog for future posts: https://jeongmitea.blogspot.com

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