Coffee houses are ubiquitous here; it’s not difficult to find several different coffee houses in one building or even two of the same franchise on a single street.

Figures from AC Neilson show that coffee houses have steadily increased their share of the coffee market, seeing a rise from 28 percent in 2007 to 37 percent last year, and over 30 percent growth in annual sales in the same period.

Not surprisingly, a vast number of coffee products and flavors are introduced into the market every year, encouraging coffee lovers to open their wallets.

But contrary to this growth, one category has received little attention from major coffee chains: decaffeinated.

This might seem strange considering that a recent study by Job Korea showed that around half of coffee drinkers here have experienced side effects from coffee, including anxiety and insomnia.

Most coffee distributors in Korea do not sell decaffeinated coffee on the grounds that there is a lack of demand.

Ignorance of the decaffeinated market is such that it’s impossible to even find figures for how much of it is consumers, according to the Korea Coffee Education Society.

“Decaffeinated coffee sales are quite insignificant. When it comes to profit, it is almost better to close down this sector,” is how market watchers would put it, according to Choi Kyung-tae, a spokesman for leading coffee mix brand Maxim.

Out of the 5 market-leading coffee houses, only Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has a range of decaffeinated coffee options.

One Starbucks official said that the company chose not to sell decaf based on market research that Koreans preferred the stimulating effects of caffeine.

The coffee maker does, however, offer decaf choices for the stores located within the U.S. army bases here.

Kim Deuck-man of the Korea Coffee Education Society agreed that the current market for decaf was not rosy, saying that “consumers do not know much about decaffeinated coffee, and they consider it low quality in taste.”

He also noted that the Korean palate for coffee was becoming increasingly sophisticated.

“Coffee is no longer solely enjoyed for its caffeine content, but more for its taste, yet there are so few options for decaffeinated coffee that people are led to believe coffee without caffeine would taste bland,” Kim said.

“Consumers want better quality coffee and should have more options which enable them to be free from caffeine attack. Seeing the current trend and technology, the coffee industry should first provide a wider range of coffee beverages in terms of quality as well as caffeine content.”

The capsule coffee industry, meanwhile, has been capitalizing on the so-called “hidden demand” for decaf among those who prefer to enjoy coffee at home.

“The way we see it, the demand for decaffeinated coffee in Korea is just as big as for regular coffee products with caffeine content,” said Jang Dong-ok, a coffee specialist with capsule coffeemaker Nespresso.

“Consumers who are vulnerable to caffeine now can fully enjoy coffee’s taste and aroma while worrying less about caffeine’s effects.”

By Choi In-jeong (injeongchoi@heraldcorp.com)