Ode to Spring: Boseong Green Tea Festival.

Boseong is known as the birthplace of tea industry in Korea. And because of it's altitude and rich soil, teas grown in Boseong is the best you could ever taste in Korea. Spring is their most celebrated season as the harvest this time is the best when it comes to quality and market value. So every Spring, from May 1-5, a festival is being held in Boseong county to celebrate the year's finest harvest.

Chris and I both love drinking tea. At home, we have a cabinet full of teas from different countries bought during Chris's business trips abroad, but our all-time favorite remains to be the one from Boseong. We love it so much that a festival named after it is just too hard to miss. We didn't mind the back-breaking ride of tunnels, mountain roads and zig-zag paths just to be there. *FYI, Boseong is at the Southwestern tip of South Korea and about 6 hour drive away from Seoul.

The festival started around 10 in the morning. Buddhists who took part in the festival started the day with worship and giving thanks at the temple.

Visitors can sample green tea and delicious rice cake served by these friendly hanbok-wearing ajummas. Their hair are all uniformly curled in distinct ajumma fashion. : )

They also show brewing techniques and teach you proper drinking etiquette.

And this is the fun part - the "Hands-on Experience Program". At a small fee, you can experience harvesting the leaves and drying them in large roasting pots. This is especially popular among families and small groups. You could bring home the finished product to brew at home.

For those who are interested to learn the processes and methods of making green tea, there are classes like this that you can attend.

One of the main attraction in the festival is the Exhibition Center. Here you can see different ceremonial tea drinking attires on display, fine tea cups from around the world and photo exhibits of different plantation and produce. There's also an audio-visual area where you can watch and learn about tea making.

There are plenty of things to see and learn that kept us occupied all throughout the day. At night, I got to see a different side of the festival - a celebration of food unique in Cheolla province that is.

People swarm these tents where different foods and delicacies are sold.

It was hard to decide on the menu, but as soon as I saw the roasted pig, I immediately knew what I'm gonna have. This is Korea's version of lechon, and one look at it made my mouth water... and the smell... damn that succulent smell of pig roasted to perfection... it made me forget all about dieting!

Here's what we have for dinner.

Dinner in a place as beautiful as Boseong can't be complete without a kick of alcohol. That milky liquid thing from the left is called Dongdongju (8,000 won) - a mild liquor made from brewing rice and wheat. The dish in the middle is called Nakji Bokkeum (20,000 won) or stir-fried octopus in spicy sauce. The third one is the roasted pig served without the skin (30,000 won). In traditional Cheolla fashion, it's served together with Hong Oh Hui - fermented raw skate that smells like dirty gas station restrooms.. BLOODY eeew! It's a specialty food that only a few Koreans can eat, and Chris being the adventurous type decided to try it. You eat it with a thick slice of pork and kimchi all piled together. I waited till I was drunk before I tried it, and even in that state I can't get past the very strong ammonia smell. It stings the mouth like acid, and it makes your breath smelling like dirty toilet. But it's hell of fun trying all those menu, we could hardly walk after. An experience like this is definitely worth all the hassle.

More adventures coming up!