What is Balloon Flower Tea?

Balloon flower tea is a disposable tea bag made from balloon flower (doraji) roots. Simply place the tea bag in hot water and steep for 1-2 minutes to fully enjoy the unique taste and aroma of the balloon flower. The tea has a slightly sweet and savory flavor, but also carries a subtle bitter aftertaste. The scent is the mild, signature aroma of the balloon flower. Here is an introduction to the balloon flower, the raw material for our tea.

Balloon Flower (Doraji)

Native to Korea, China, Japan, and the Russian Far East, the balloon flower is a common plant in nature. "Doraji" is a pure Korean name; legend has it that the name originated from people calling the flower that bloomed on the grave of a maiden who died of a broken heart after her lover left her. The name of the flower is derived from the maiden's name. Born from such a sad story, the plant also goes by various other names, such as Gil-gyeong (桔梗), Baek-yak (白藥), wild balloon flower, medicinal balloon flower, dol-gat, do-rat, gil-gyeong-chae, and go-gil-gyeong.

Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) is a perennial herb belonging to the Campanulaceae family and is used for food, health, and ornamental purposes. The flowers bloom in the summer, between July and August, and come in shades of blue-violet, white, and pink. You will most commonly see the blue-violet balloon flower. Because the petals contain anthocyanin, a red pigment, flowers grown in highly acidic soil can sometimes appear pink. Varieties with white flowers are called white balloon flowers, and those with double petals are called double balloon flowers. We have shown all three types below.

Records of the balloon flower appear in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing, a Chinese text estimated to be over 2,000 years old. While it is unclear when the plant first arrived in our lands, it is mentioned in the Joseon Dynasty's Dongui Bogam. These historical records confirm that humans have recognized and used balloon flowers for food and health for at least two millennia. We have shown the balloon flower roots below.

Culinary Balloon Flower vs. Medicinal Balloon Flower

The terms "culinary balloon flower" and "medicinal balloon flower" were created to distinguish how the roots are used. These are not different seeds. Generally, balloon flowers are used for health purposes only after they have been planted for at least three years; thus, roots older than three years are called medicinal balloon flowers. Before reaching three years of age, the roots are tender and better suited for eating, hence they are called culinary balloon flowers. The bitter taste of the balloon flower that tantalizes our palate is truly exceptional.

Sometimes the distinction is made by the shape of the root. Culinary roots are long and straight like radish roots, with fewer side branches and fine rootlets. Medicinal roots, on the other hand, have shorter main bodies, more branches, and numerous fine rootlets. The photo below shows a comparison.

Composition of Balloon Flower

Typically, balloon flower roots are harvested for health purposes after at least three years of growth. To observe how the components change over time, we have provided an analysis of the components of 3-year-old versus 24-year-old balloon flower roots. This is a comparison of balloon flowers with a 21-year age difference.

1). Analysis table of general components in 3-year-old balloon flower (Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Chemistry, 1997, dry matter basis)

2). Analysis table of general components in 24-year-old balloon flower (Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Chemistry, 1997, dry matter basis)

As shown in the table above, there is little difference in general components between 3-year and 24-year roots. While the carbohydrate content increases slightly in the 24-year-old root, there is a corresponding decrease in protein, fat, and ash.

The most important component in balloon flower roots is saponin. Since saponin is a combination of sugar and carbohydrates, an increase in carbohydrates naturally leads to an increase in saponin content. Because the carbohydrate content in 24-year-old roots is about 1.5% higher than in 3-year-old roots, the saponin content naturally increases as well. From a cultivator's perspective, however, it is much more productive to harvest 3-year-old roots eight times over a 24-year period than to wait 24 years for a single harvest.

The growth rate and the rate of saponin increase are rapid between years 1 and 3, but slow down significantly after year 3. For this reason, 3- to 4-year-old roots are generally used for health purposes. Here are a few important, special, and trace components of the balloon flower.

Folk Uses of Balloon Flower

Here is a brief introduction to common folk uses of the balloon flower.

Balloon flower blossoms are harvested in July-August, and the roots are harvested from autumn to early spring, either used fresh or dried. As balloon flowers are perennial plants, the roots can be harvested between spring and autumn, but they are mainly harvested between autumn and early spring because their bitter taste is stronger and the quality is superior compared to other times of the year.

The product supplier is Onyudam (CEO: Yoon Seong-hyeon, Jo Su-in) and the manufacturer is Hapcheon Medicinal Herb Processing Agricultural Cooperative (CEO: Baek Mun-gi). CEO Baek, who had been running a health farm with his parents for over 20 years, established the Hapcheon Medicinal Herb Processing Agricultural Cooperative in 1996, built a processing factory the following year, received the $500,000 Export Tower award for the first time in 2003, and served as the 17th-18th chairman of the Korea Medicinal Herb Association.

The Hapcheon Medicinal Herb Processing Agricultural Cooperative cultivates about 60 types of health plants, including chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, mulberry, persimmon, peony, achyranthes, safflower, motherwort, omija, goji berry, cornelian cherry, astragalus, green tea, actinidia, and balloon flower in Hapcheon-eup, Hapcheon-gun, where the cooperative is located, and uses them as ingredients for health tea. The cooperative sells its produced items through domestic and international channels and supplies products to other companies through OEM manufacturing.

The Hapcheon Medicinal Herb Processing Agricultural Cooperative received a Minister of Agriculture and Forestry award in 2002, registered the trademark 'Sangrime' in 2007, received ISO22000, an international food safety management certification in 2015, was registered as a venture company in the same year, obtained a patent for the balloon flower tea manufacturing method in 2017, received HACCP, a Ministry of Food and Drug Safety management certification (No. 2018-2-9156) in 2018, and received organic certification (No. 17100199) for chrysanthemum crops in 2019, establishing its status as a small yet strong business. A brief introduction to the Hapcheon Medicinal Herb Processing Agricultural Cooperative is provided below.

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