THE Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental along with the Department of Tourism (DOT) is planning to develop and produce a cold beverage of the Oolong tea as it targets a wide market this year.
Benjamin Boston, focal person of the province's Oolong tea project said tea-lovers will soon have a variety of options aside from what is currently sold, the Oolong tea served with hot water.
Boston said they are trying out different flavors such as Oolong iced tea with lemon, honey, and calamansi. He said these 3 flavors are usually Misamisnon's favorites.
This development is part of Governor Yevgeny Emano's plan to expand the Oolong tea, and make Misamis Oriental a premier producer of the tea in the whole country.
Provincial Agriculturist Dr. Benjamin Resma said the province has sent a representative in China to study the Oolong tea.
"We are still processing the Oolong tea at the barangay hall of Kalagonoy, Gingoog City so this is why we are building a processing plant so that our produce will be bigger and we can eventually penetrate the big market," Resma said.
Resma said the project is not only good for the province, but also benefits the Indigenous Peoples at the Mount Balatukan range who are employed by the province to harvest the plant.
Resma said the challenge is how to expand it responsibly and include especially small farmers in the area.