▲ Jeju Farm Plus held a special seminar on blended tea research at the Jeju Grand Hotel. Photo by The Jeju Weekly

Agricultural corporation Jeju Farm Plus (President and CEO: Jang Seong-cheol) held a seminar at Jeju Grand Hotel on May 13 introducing its ongoing research into natural green tea and fruit blends.

Starting in August 2014, the research comes to an end in July 2016 and is supported by the Ministry for Food and Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Evaluation and Planning.

Jeju Farm Plus is working alongside Jeju National University Academic Cooperation Foundation on the research. The project aims to add high value-added foods to the market to boost local Jeju producers.

Korea Tea Association President Jeong Seung-ho presented on the latest trends in the natural fruit blend tea market. Jeong stated that the market is becoming more differentiated and advanced globally.

"There is a great wave of change sweeping the world tea market, and most noteworthy is the move toward blended tea and new fragrances and beauty in the world tea market.”

Jeong then introduced some market characteristics of the world’s greatest tea consuming nations. He spoke on Japan’s strength in bottled and canned teas, and its success in competing with coffee, and spoke on China’s pioneering of flavored and blended teas. In North America he also sees great opportunities ahead.

“A special tea market is growing and there are going to be great changes that are fiercely competitive as the tea era opens.”

With regards to Jeju, attention was drawn to the potential to synergize the tea and citrus industries particularly with new aroma preservation techniques.

“As a center of citrus Jeju has great potential if we can effectively market Jeju brands. This new tea market has potential for blended Jeju citrus teas especially by preserve the flavor, such as Hallabong, with new drying techniques which would give birth to a unique product.”