Green tea wonderland: Boseong (보성녹차밭)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE ALL THINGS GREEN TEA. Really. Green tea latte (especially the Cafe Bene version!), green tea ice cream, green tea cheesecake, green tea face cream, green tea makeup remover (thank you Innisfree~).... I could go on forever. Being such a huge green tea fan, I was naturally VERY EXCITED when I got the opportunity to visit the Boseong green tea plantation in Jeollanam-do!

Rows and rows of green tea woohoo~^.^

It was a 1 hour drive from Samjinae to Boseong, and we arrived there in time to take a leisurely morning stroll through the plantation with the owner before breakfast. The air smelled clean and humid, thanks to Boson's prime location- 10km from the southern tip of the peninsula, a few kilometres from a large lake, and no factories within a 1.5 hour drive of it. All of these factors contribute to Boseong becoming one of the best green tea plantations in Korea!

As we walked, we learnt more about the green tea plants- did you know that the flowers only grow on the underside of the shrubs? Hence they are not visible from the top! The flowers give off a mild fragrance, and are best served as a hot drink after a good soak in a glass jar with honey.

Green tea flowers :)

What is really great about the green tea from Bo Hyang Green Tea Farm in Boseong is that ever since its founding in the 1930s, there has been no herbicide, insecticide or chemical fertilisers used. Bo Hyang thus became the first Korean farm to be a certified producer of organic tea by the Korean government. Since then, it has become the partner of many international hotel chains and provide quality tea from the hotels' restaurants and cafes!

Fun fact 1: In 2008, tea from Boseong county became the first Korean made beverage to be launched into space as a drink for the astronauts!

Fun fact 2: Tea from the county is also supplied to the Blue House --> ie. Park Geun Hye drinks tea produced in Boseong!

After our very educational morning stroll, we proceeded back to the experience center on the farm for breakfast! The lady of the farm (i.e. owner's wife:)) is an AMAZING COOK and we happily dug into our 떡만두국 (tteok-mandu guk).

Some side dishes to go with our main! All made on the farm :)

Looking kind of green because of the green overhead tent that we were sitting under for breakfast!

Post breakfast, it was onwards to the tea center where we got to sample some of the tea grown on the farm! Earlier in the month, the farm also hosted business leaders from the Gulf and Korean government officials where discussions were underway to export tea from the region to the Middle East, which also has a strong tea culture.

Epitome of elegance~

The main tea set used by our teacher!

We watched a demonstration of tea etiquette- men sit with their legs crossed, while women sit on the back of their heels. Place the tea cup on the palm of your left hand, and wrap the palm of your right hand around the tea cup before bringing it up to your lips. First inhale the fragrance of the tea then lightly sip it~

The in-house tea expert Mr Choi!

Certified!

There were some biscuits for us to snack on- not at all sweet, and taste like a hint of grain.

Then it was time for us to try our hand at making green tea coins! It is a good way to store tea, as the coins can be stringed into a long necklace and hung on the ceiling in the veranda to air and ferment.

Green tea coin necklace!

But first... we begin by steaming the great tea leaves then manually pounding them into mush using a giant motar and pestle. The green tea turns kind of sticky, and it needs to be pounded until it reaches a thicker, paste-like consistency.

It actually smells really good despite the unappealing look!

The paste is then scooped out in balls and placed on the rattan basket before being distributed to us at the tables. We sat in teams of 4, and had a competition to see who could make the most, and the nicest looking green tea coins! the green tea coins are all painstaking handmade by casting them in wooden moulds (same one that is used to make mooncakes!) and then piercing a hold through the middle before leaving them to air on the rattan basket~

The green tea balls - I affectionately named them green tea ddong (녹차똥) ^.^

The finished coins!

The lady who showed us how to make the coins + who cooked us fabulous meals!

Now that we were all done with our activities, we sat down to our final meal in Jeollanam-do before embarking on a 5 hour bus ride back to Seoul. Lucky we ate well, because the bus ride stretched out to 7 hours thanks to the flood of people going back to Seoul after spending the weekend in rural Korea!