Jeju Island, off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, is a hugely popular tourist destination – in fact, the airline route between it and Seoul is the world's busiest. As such it should come as no surprise that it boasts a museum dedicated to the green tea grown on the island and loved across the country: the O'sulloc Tea Museum.
While less well known than the infamous adult-themed sculpture park, Loveland, O'sulloc is nevertheless a popular Jeju destination, especially for tea lovers. The circular main building, inspired by the shape of a tea cup, is complemented by three modern glass, steel, and concrete pavilions. These are dotted around the wooded grounds which border the fields where the famous tea is grown. Inside, the centre offers a mix of the decorative, the interactive and, of course, the consumable! The first two of these are covered by galleries and activity spaces which house all manner of delights from classes on brewing tea correctly or making your own soap to the history of tea and collections of teacups from around the world. You can also watch the leaves roasting, join in a traditional tea ceremony or have a tasting session to determine your favourite type of tea.
The highlight for many will be the Innisfree café and shop. Visitors can relax here, enjoying the views over the fields through the four floor-to-ceiling glass walls, all while sampling the green tea infused food like ice cream and the famous green tea roll cake. There are even four branches of the café in Seoul, which offer many of the same green tea treats and also emphasise the principles of bodily and mental balance so associated with traditional Korean tea drinking. Overall the O'sulloc name guarantees a cultural, educational and culinary experience for anyone interested in knowing more about, and enjoying, this wonderful drink!