Tengiz Svanidze, President of the Association of Tea Producers of Georgia, said.
History of Georgian tea
According to some historical data, tea appeared in Georgia for the first time in 1770, when the Russian Empress Catherine II presented the Georgian Tsar Irakli II with a samovar and a tea set.
There is an assumption that the first tea bush in Georgia appeared 208 years ago in the courtyard of Prince Gurieli (hence the name of the most popular Georgian tea brand today). Only he had a different purpose - he was just a decoration of the garden. And for industrialization, the first tea bushes came to us from China. 170 years have passed since then, and since that moment we have been celebrating the birthday of Georgian tea.
Then tea was the drink of rich people. And there were no utensils for its use - no one knew about the cup and saucer at all. And after it was noticed that tea cultures took root very well in Georgia, its active cultivation began.
During Soviet times, tea plantations throughout the country occupied 67,000 hectares. For comparison, today Georgian tea is grown on no more than two thousand hectares.
During the Soviet Union, Georgian tea production ranked fourth or fifth in terms of quality throughout the world. Every year we produced about 120 tons of products, collected 500-600 tons of tea leaves. Georgian tea firmly occupied 87% of the entire tea market of the Soviet Union.
End of the era of Georgian tea
The decline of Georgian tea began in the 90s of the last century. This was directly affected by the situation in the country - the collapse of the Soviet Union, the civil war, the loss of markets, a sharp decline in production. All this happened overnight, and in order to restore it all, you need a lot of time.
Of course, all these factors follow one from the other - the loss of markets caused a sharp decline in production, the decline in production caused the closure and dissolution of factories, and then they were further privatized. The tea plantations were abandoned. All this needs to be restored step by step, and as you know, everything can be destroyed in one minute, and everything will have to be built again for many years.
Georgian tea today
As for his recognition, in 15-20 years, of course, everyone forgot about him. However, the nostalgia for natural Georgian tea in the countries of the former Soviet Union still remains. Georgia is slowly starting to develop tea production again. Let me give you an example, when in 2006 our association held a tea festival for the first time, only 5% of the Georgian product was presented, and 95% was occupied by imported brands. Today, Georgian tea already occupies 20% of the entire tea market in Georgia. It's very little, but it's still progress. Georgian brands have already appeared - "Gurieli", "Ternali", "Kobuleturi Chai", "Shemokmedi", "Anaseuli", "Tkibuli", which produce very high-quality tea, but so far in small quantities.
Today, if Georgian tea needs something, it is popularization. Having tried it, you will see that Georgian tea is absolutely competitive both in terms of quality and cost. Let me emphasize once again that the main thing that Georgian tea needs today is recognition abroad. Unfortunately, now Georgia is more famous for wine, mineral waters, citruses, although tea may become the hallmark of the country in the future, it has certain qualities for this.
© Sputnik / Levan Avlabreli
Our task is to put Georgian tea in fair competition with others. By fair competition, I mean that no imported teas come into the country at dumping prices. Some teas, of course, not all, but still, are brought to Georgia expired, stuffed with chemicals and dyes, but they are well packaged and look good, besides, at an attractively low price. Here in this respect there is, as I said, unfair competition. Georgian tea is fresh, of high quality, and the price matches this. Our tea can completely occupy the entire Georgian market and displace the imported product. And then we will think about exports.
© Sputnik / Levan Avlabreli
When demand grows, production will grow, production will grow - new jobs will appear, which is very important in the context of modern realities in our country. The economy will rise due to exports - after all, we have an EU association agreement, this will help introduce our Georgian tea to Europe. The prospects and potential of Georgian tea are endless, and this should be used.
The uniqueness of Georgian tea
What distinguishes Georgian tea is that it has a low content of tannins, due to this it has a very delicate and mild taste. You know, it's like wine, it also comes in high and low tannins. One is tart and the other is soft. Due to its tenderness, Georgian tea has a lot of fans. Indian tea, for example, is of very high quality, of course, but it has a high content of tannins, its taste is very tart and astringent. Someone, of course, loves this taste, while someone idolizes soft and delicate Georgian tea. And all because Georgian tea plantations are the northernmost. Above ours, tea plantations do not exist. This is what contributes to such a mild taste.
Georgia is known for its beautiful landscapes, delicious food, fresh fruits and mineral waters, but today few people remember the production of Georgian tea during the Soviet era. In this article, we will talk about the heyday and decline of Georgian tea growing, the pros and cons of tea from a sunny country, the methods of its brewing and the best varieties.
Story
The first tea bushes were planted at the end of the nineteenth century under the leadership of K.S. Popov. His varieties received a gold award and first place at the Paris Exhibition in 1939. Popov's teas were considered the best in the Caucasus. However, during the First World War, the development of tea growing in the country was stopped. The farms were abandoned and destroyed, in 1921 the companies were nationalized, the state itself took up the production of sheets that were assembled by hand. During this period, the active development of tea growing began.
By the middle of the twentieth century, there were already 65 factories in the entire Caucasus, eight of which produced only green tea. Tons of tile tea leaves were sent to all corners of the USSR, they were packed in foil paper, cardboard and metal boxes. In the 60s, the heyday of Georgian tea science began, which lasted about twenty years. Unfortunately, the quality of the industry has been affected by the shift to mechanical sheet picking and the disruption of processing to speed up the process. During this period, the production of tea leaves decreased by almost one and a half times, and after the collapse of the USSR, it was completely stopped.
Of the 65 factories, only three remained, the rest were either abandoned or redesigned in more modern directions. Even in its own market, the share of native tea is only eight percent.
Tea production today
In the early 2000s, Georgian tea growing practically stood still. One of the remaining factories produced only green tea for the Central Asian countries. Not a single elite variety from those previously produced has been preserved. Toward the end of the first decade, the process began to gradually move for the better, teas began to be produced in an artisanal way, but only people who love their job were doing this.
Nowadays, the Georgian tea culture has begun to develop gradually, which cannot but rejoice. After all, properly grown and harvested Georgian tea with competent processing in taste and aroma is by no means inferior to Chinese and Indian varieties. At the moment, this organic drink is very popular in the country.
Varieties
For a long period, several varieties of tea were produced in the Caucasus: both black and green. All of them were in demand throughout the entire Soviet Union. Black long leaf species called "Bouquet" and "Extra" consisted of thyrses and top sheets. The leaf type of black tea of the first collection was considered the highest grade, and in the second one there were a sufficiently large number of additional ingredients to increase the volume and weight of the tile. As a rule, it was made from branches collected by machinery. The tea drinks "Bodrost" and "Tea 36" were combined types, since, in addition to Georgian, they also contained Indian and Ceylon varieties.
Green tea had a fairly wide assortment and was produced under numbers from 10 to 125. Above number 125 there were already products of the highest quality, these included "Green Extra" and "Georgian Bouquet".
Today, the best brands that have proven themselves not only in the Georgian, but also in the European market are Samaia and Gurieli. They not only became widespread, but also received the title of goods of medium quality or first grade. Gurieli and Samaia have another weighty argument for buying: in addition to the amazing taste and aroma, which are not worse than the Indian or Chinese type, they have a very affordable price, which will please most connoisseurs of this drink.
The range is gradually expanding, new varieties appear. In addition to black and green tea, white types are also in demand, as well as drinks with additional components in the form of a variety of berries, fruits and Caucasian herbs. One of the producers who released a new variety called "Georgian Tea 1847" was presented at one of the international exhibitions just a couple of years ago and took part in the annual championship. In addition to high marks, prizes and first places, the variety received great approval and aroused considerable public interest.
At another festival held in 2017, tea drinks from Georgia also received prizes and the sympathy of visitors.
brick tea
Georgian brick tea is especially popular, which is convenient not only for its small size and ease of transportation, but also for its simple way of using. This type is a homogeneous mass with a hard and even surface. It doesn't break or crumble. Since the pressing process takes place through high pressure, most of the resinous substances are eliminated, which is good for health.
Georgian brick tea is very strong, rich and has a velvety aroma that will not leave anyone indifferent.
Pros and cons
Among the advantages of the drink from Georgia, it should be noted the high content of tips and the presence of a small amount of tannins. Thanks to this, the tea comes out quite saturated and retains all the necessary nutrients. The pleasant aroma of tea will awaken the desire to drink it even among those who do not like this drink.
Among the disadvantages of Georgian tea, one can single out the presence of small crumbs, which, like dust, sometimes remain at the bottom of the box. A similar phenomenon is caused by a slight mechanical damage to the sheets during manufacture.
Cooking method
There are two ways to brew this tea. The first, classical is known to all. A small amount of the mixture is placed in a cup and poured with boiling water, after which you need to wait about seven minutes for the drink to brew well and you can start to enjoy drinking.
The second method is known only in narrow circles. Its main condition is a 100% hot kettle. When it is very hot, tea leaves are placed inside and boiled water is poured. In this case, three minutes is enough for a complete infusion.
Another nice plus of this method is the amazing aroma that will quickly spread throughout the room.
Unfortunately, now the Georgian drink is not very popular on the Russian market. Indian, Chinese and English counterparts are quite firmly holding on to leading positions in this niche. However, given the gradual development of tea growing in Georgia and the love of our compatriots for this country, it is quite possible that in a couple of years we will be able to meet an assortment of Georgian tea on the shelves of our stores.
You will learn more about the collection and preparation of Georgian tea from the following video.
In 1854, during the Crimean War, a British warship was wrecked near the city of Poti. The crew was taken prisoner, but according to the noble customs of those times, the officers were placed in the houses of the local nobility - more like guests than as prisoners.
One of them, the Scotsman Jacob McNamarra, fell in love with the daughter of Prince Eristavi, who showed him hospitality: the fifteen-year-old Princess Sofiko. The girl answered him in kind. Their love was so strong that Prince Eristavi could not refuse a foreigner who asked for the hand of his daughter. Only he set a condition: Sofiko would not go anywhere. If a Scot wants to be with her, let him give up his homeland… Jacob McNamarra stayed in Georgia.
But he could not live without tea, and therefore had to spend a fortune on the delivery of this precious drink. It was then that he decided to try to plant his own tea plantation. Prince Eristavi supported his son-in-law.
Jacob ordered tea seeds not from dealers, but from his old friends in the British Navy. I had to wait a long time, but in the end, the living seeds, not spoiled by the greedy Chinese, ended up in his hands, were planted in the fertile Georgian land in the Ozurgeti region, and sprouted.
Already in 1864, at an industrial exhibition in St. Petersburg, the first samples of "Caucasian tea" were demonstrated.
From the book of Mikhail Davitashvili "Our Georgian Tea" ...
“In the estate of the Georgian prince Mikh Eristavi in the village of Gora-Berejouli, a commotion reigned in the morning: the owner was leaving on a long journey, to St. Petersburg. As soon as dawn broke, a carriage harnessed by a train was brought to the house. The servants began to carry and tie up the chests.
In the sixties of the last century, the trip of a Transcaucasian resident to Russia was a great event for him and his whole family. But it had a very special meaning for the prince himself. He had to pass a serious test. He brought to the capital the fruits of his many years of work - the first samples of Georgian tea.
The whole family put a lot of effort into making this tea. From the time when Mikha Eristavi founded the first tea plantation in Georgia, he made all the household members ardent adherents of tea growing. When the peasant girls began to collect shoots from the bushes, the princely house turned into a tea factory ...
Eristavi had instructions translated into Georgian on how to process tea leaves. Trying not to deviate from the precious document in any way, the wife, sons and daughters of the prince, led by him, carried out mysterious manipulations, withering, twisting and drying the tea leaves. Tea, according to the household, turned out to be excellent ... Everyone rejoiced.
Eristavi intended to create a large subtropical farm, but his own funds were not enough for this. In 1860, he asked the tsarist government for a loan of 20,000 rubles. The answer was given four years later, when his plantation had already brought a harvest and samples of dry tea had been made, and read: "Refuse." The civil governor of Kutaisi, in a report on this matter, thoughtfully stated that "the development of tea trees" in Georgia is "an impossible task"; that, perhaps, only in greenhouses, "under artificial conditions" ... etc.
And here is Eristavi in St. Petersburg. In his hands is material evidence that it is possible to produce tea in Georgia. In 1864, thanks to the efforts of an enthusiast, the first domestic tea appeared at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition in St. Petersburg. But praise is praise, but help ... Mikha Eristavi returned to his estate empty-handed. In the same year, he made another attempt to bring his work to the attention of the government. At the end of the year, he presented samples of tea from the harvests of 1862, 1863 and 1864 to the Caucasian Society of Agriculture. The examination approved the tea of 1863. But the Caucasian society did not live up to Eristavi's hopes either. As Georgy Tsereteli noted in those years, it "was cut off from the life of the country, the members of the society were engaged not in serving the common interests, but in personal affairs."
In fairness, it must be added that these first samples of Georgian tea were imperfect; but the essence of the matter is that neither our first tea grower, nor the Caucasian society itself received any support from the tsarist government. In 1870, Eristavi died, and for fifteen years, experiments in the production of tea actually stopped. They were renewed in 1885 by the great Russian chemist A. M. Butlerov. From the leaves of the tea bushes of the Sukhum Botanical Garden, he made pretty good tea. He also had his own plot of tea between Sukhumi and New Athos. But Butlerov also died before he could complete these experiments.
However, the idea of domestic tea growing did not die out, it was promoted at different times by Russian scientists: Dokuchaev, Voeikov, Krasnov, Williams, it was picked up by the Georgian public. Prominent public figure Niko Nikoladze, writer and publicist Georgy Tsereteli, and many others ardently supported the development of tea culture. Nikoladze planted tea seedlings in the Poti garden and in his native village of Didi-Jikhaishi. The prominent writer and public figure Ilya Chavchavadze wrote in the Iveria newspaper in 1887: “Thanks to the rich climate and soil, Transcaucasia can produce almost everything that grows on the earth and gives benefits. Our region has grown so successfully even the cinchona tree and the tea bush that now the government itself is trying to prosper and spread both one and the other culture.
Tea plantations are located near Chakvi, Ozurgetti, Cabuletti
The tsarist government "tried about the prosperity and distribution" of tea more than moderately. More than once, high authorities in the rank of minister or governor refused to allocate land for tea plantations to individuals and communities, and the work that had been started collapsed, the initiative died out. When the Caucasian Society of Agriculture asked for permission to send their trainee with an expedition to the tea countries, the official of the Ministry of State Property refused, presenting a “weighty” reason: “the trainee may die there ...” The tea merchants, who raked in huge profits, also acted as enemies of domestic tea. There were cases when, on the initiative of Russian scientists, tea seeds and seedlings were purchased in China, Japan and India, delivered to Georgia, planted in the ground, but did not give good shoots, normal bushes; checks revealed that they had been deliberately tampered with. Most often, the seeds lost their germination in a long journey, sometimes they were sown in unsuitable soils; young bushes died from frost or inept care.
And yet time took its toll. Tea, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some landowners, wealthy people, sometimes peasants (rarely local residents, more often immigrants) began to breed tea.
It took many years and efforts of many people to create a highly organized tea industry in Georgia in the first half of the 20th century, and tea received the deserved right of industrial culture, i.e. tea growing has become the pride of the country's agriculture. Through the efforts of many enthusiasts, work on the selection, cultivation and processing of tea continued, and by the beginning of the 20th century, tea was already being harvested in Georgia with might and main, and several tea factories were operating. The varieties “Bogatyr”, “Kara-Dere”, “Zedoban”, “Ozurgeti” produced before the revolution were of very high quality. One of the best was Dyadyushkin's Russian Tea - black tea with tips (tea buds) up to 5.5%. This variety won a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
1917 ... The young Soviet republic, having lost ties with many traditional tea exporters, and faced with the threat of being left without a product of prime necessity, urgently took steps to develop tea growing in Georgia, and then in Azerbaijan and in the Krasnodar Territory.
The success in growing tea in the GSSR was impressive. State policy and support for state farms allowed the Soviet Union, already during the first five-year plans, to abandon the import of tea seeds and significantly reduce the import of tea from abroad. Tea growing has become the pride of Georgia's socialist agriculture, its leading industry. The All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops and the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of the Tea Industry worked in Georgia. The Georgian Agricultural Institute and a number of other scientific institutions also dealt with "tea issues".
In 1948, Ksenia Bakhtadze bred artificial tea hybrids for the first time in the world: varieties Georgian No. 1 and Georgian No. 2. Subsequently, selection work continued, high-quality varieties of tea were bred, while having a unique viability. So, for example, the hybrid "Georgian Selection No. 8" withstood winter temperatures down to -25 ° C.
Tea-packing factory on a tea plantation near Batumi, ca. 1909-1915
However, manual collection of varietal tea leaves is a very hard work. The picker, in order to collect the daily norm (15 kg of a leaf), had to make about 36 thousand tear-offs of suitable flushes with her fingers (usually three leaves with buds or 4-5 leaves).
Therefore, there was an urgent need to create and introduce complex mechanization into tea growing as soon as possible. Therefore, there was an urgent need to create and introduce complex mechanization into tea growing as soon as possible.
But only after the end of the Second World War in Georgia, the first comb-pneumatic tea-picking machine for the selective collection of high-quality tea leaves "Sakartvelo" was created in Georgia, which was put into production in 1962. The achievements of the tea industry convincingly prove that in the last century tea has become an integral part of the Georgian economy. Moreover, by the end of the 70s, Georgia in the production of black long leaf and slab tea was listed in one of the first places among the main producers (naturally, after India, China and Sri Lanka).
Tea-picking machines "Sakartvelo" on the plantation of the Ingir State Farm.
By the end of the 1970s, Georgia was producing 95,000 tons of ready-made tea per year. Georgian tea was exported to Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, South Yemen, and Mongolia. In Georgia, black long leaf tea, green leaf, tiled, brick tea were produced. Black tea was consumed by the European republics of the USSR and European countries, green tea - by Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the countries of Central Asia.
Set "Soviet Assorted Tea" 1939.
"Amateur with a flower." Top grade. NARKOMPISCHEPROM.
First grade. Tea-packing factory them. Lenin. MOSSORSOVNARKHOZ.
First grade. Tea-packing factory them. Mikoyan, Odessa. MPPT USSR. GOST 1938-46
Recession. In the 1970s, along with the growth in the production of Georgian tea, a progressive decline in its quality was noted. The transition from manual collection of tea leaves to mechanical led to a sharp deterioration in the quality of raw materials. The race for performance has led to widespread disruption of technology, from allowing tea to be harvested in wet weather, to speeding up the processing of tea leaves by eliminating the mandatory drying step. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia, due to the low quality of Georgian tea, refocused on the supply of imported varieties. Georgian tea production was practically abandoned and, despite the emergence of firms producing competitive products, has not yet regained its former positions.
After the collapse of the USSR, the leadership of independent Georgia took a course to curtail tea production and destroy plantations under the pretext that tea is a product alien to Georgia. International statistics noted that in 1993 production practically stopped altogether. The war, especially in Abkhazia, severed economic ties and created chaos in production.
Today, Georgian tea production is in deep decline. The total area of tea plantations is 50 thousand hectares.
Hundreds of thousands of specialists in tea farms and factories, machine operators, tea pickers were left without work. Many women were forced to look for work on the tea plantations in Turkey. And the tea plantations of Georgia... the tea bush in free development develops into a tea tree and loses its main purpose - to produce an industrial tea leaf. Moreover, the restoration of a heavily neglected plantation is expensive manual labor. Therefore, the irretrievable loss of tea plantations and, accordingly, Georgian tea cannot be allowed. After all, this is the property of the country, accumulated at the cost of the labor of hundreds of thousands of people.
By the way, it is interesting that the son of Jacob and Sofiko, Nikolai Yakovlevich Marra (“Jacob” in Russian is translated as “Yakov”, and the surname was shortened and simplified) became an outstanding linguist, collector of Caucasian folklore, academician and vice president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Soon Georgian tea will be 160 years old. I would like to wish him the restoration of his former glory!
Today, Georgia is associated with wine, Borjomi mineral water and tangerines, but few people remember that this is the country of tea. Georgian tea is the northernmost in the world, its history was created over a century and a half, and it came to a brilliant but short heyday, followed by a decline. But today Georgians are trying to revive the traditions of growing tea bushes on their territory.
Tea appeared in this sunny country in 1770, when Catherine II presented a tea service and a samovar to Tsar Heraclius II. In 1848, the first seedlings of the tea bush were planted in the Sukhumi Botanical Garden and in Ozurgeti, which arrived from the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Yalta. Scientists believed that the most favorable climatic conditions for growing tea bushes were on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea. After that, tea culture began to develop actively.
During the USSR period, Georgian tea was one of the four best teas in the world in terms of quality, 120 tons of products were produced per year. The decline of history came in the 90s of the last century, when the Soviet Union collapsed, and there was a civil war in Georgia. As a result, the tea plantations were abandoned, the production facilities were closed and privatized, the sales market was lost. Over the years, everyone has forgotten about Georgian tea, however, today tea production continues to develop in the country.
The best varieties of Georgian tea
Today, 20% of the entire tea market in Georgia is already occupied by tea of its own production: Tkibuli, Ternali, Gurieli, Shemokmedi. Long leaf black tea was produced from the top leaves and there were two varieties of this drink: the highest grade and second grade tea. There was also a variety of "Cheerfulness" and "Tea No. 36" which were a blend of Georgian and Indian tea.
There were more varieties of green tea, about two dozen, numbered from 10 to 125. The taste of Georgian green tea was in no way inferior to Japanese or Chinese varieties, but required compliance with the brewing rules due to low extractivity. Tea No. 95 and Bouquet of Georgia were considered the best, which had a delicate taste and delicate aroma. Also "Extra" and No. 125 belong to the highest grades.
Today, on the shelves of stores in Georgia, you can buy tea of your own production at affordable prices, which is in no way inferior to Chinese or Japanese in terms of taste and aroma. Gurieli is a very popular drink served in all establishments in the country. You can buy it in packaged and sheet form. Tkibuli tea is a black variety without additives. Maradidi large-leaf tea is a rather cheap drink. You can also buy loose leaf tea at local markets, but it does not have a special aroma and has a specific aftertaste. The range of Georgian tea varieties is increasing every year.
Important! In 2016, in Seoul, at the championship, he won the prize of "Georgian Tea of 1847", which was recently produced. Also, this variety won 4 more nominations and aroused great interest and high quality ratings.
Advantages and disadvantages of tea
The uniqueness of the Georgian tea leaf is in the low content of tannins, due to which this drink has a soft and delicate taste. It is this tenderness of tea that attracts lovers of tea drink. Indian tea, on the other hand, is high in tannins and has an astringent, tart taste. The soft taste of tea from Georgia is influenced by the climatic conditions of the growth of the tea bush, because these are the northernmost plantations.
Also an indisputable advantage is the presence of a large number of tips, thanks to which the drink is saturated with nutrients. It is very important to note that Georgian producers do not use dyes, flavor enhancers in their production. Tea plantations on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea grow at an altitude of 1000-1300 m, pests of tea bushes do not live at such an altitude, so the tea leaf is not treated with pesticides.
But this drink also has its drawbacks. So, during production, mechanical damage occurs, as a result of which small crumbs appear, resembling dust. Also in tea, you can find petioles, stems, which, during the collection, the collectors do not separate from the leaves. That is why tea should be shone before brewing in order to get a richer taste and a transparent color. It is this phenomenon that spoils the quality of Georgian-made tea drink.
Georgian brick tea
Tiled tea differs from brick tea in the raw materials used. For its production, not a whole tea leaf is used, but tea crumbs and cuttings, sticks and other tea debris. In other words, for such a product, not specially made material is used, but waste from the production of leaf tea. There are also differences in the pressing method.
Features of brewing Georgian tea
Due to the peculiarities of Georgian tea, it is necessary to brew it correctly in order to get a transparent drink with a rich taste. The main rule is to warm up the teapot well to 100-120 ºС, while inside it must remain dry.
Important! Do not rinse the kettle with hot water.
It is easier to heat the teapot in a pot of boiling water, it is also possible to heat it on fire, but it is dangerous that the kettle will crack when water is poured into it. It will be safe to heat on a gas burner by turning it from side to side.
When the teapot is heated, tea leaves are poured into it at the rate of 2 tsp. in a glass of water and pour boiling water. The brew should be infused for 3-4 minutes. If the brewing was in compliance with all the rules and regulations, then when pouring water, a characteristic hiss may occur and a bright aroma can be felt. The meaning of this method of brewing is that the tea leaf in a hot teapot undergoes additional heat treatment, which stimulates the release of aroma. This effect is inherent in modern varieties of tea produced in Georgia, which are underfermented. With proper brewing, you can experience the exceptional aroma and bright taste of this drink.
Pretty good tea is grown and sold in Georgia.
True, not all Georgian tea is good) I'll tell you which is delicious and which is not.
Here Bastian knows which one to steal)
Georgian tea by weight
In the markets you can find a huge amount of loose tea. It is so cheap that it is even suspicious to buy it)
It is large-leaved, but not at all fragrant. And with an unusual aftertaste for us.
All in all, I can't recommend it. We tried it once and don't want to do it again.
Various types are sold, for example, from a blueberry leaf. There are plenty to choose from, but I can’t guarantee that you will be satisfied with the result.
Maradidi tea
Georgian tea Maradidi can be bought in stores. I met only in mini-markets, those on the first floors of houses.
Very similar to loose. It is also cheap - 3 lari per 200 grams. And not very tasty either.
The rest of the teas that I will talk about are also not expensive - the price is around 3-4 GEL per 100 grams.
This instance is already more interesting.
Remember Indian elephant tea? Here's the exact taste.
Just a rich taste of black tea.
And with what love described by the manufacturer!
Gurieli
Gurieli is a very popular Georgian tea. It can be bought in almost any store, both in the form of sheets and in bags. It is also often served in cafes.
This tea is way better than the ones listed above. Tastier, more flavorful.
Good black tea with bergamot.
And just black without additives.
But green with jasmine I can not advise. There is a lot of flavoring, even gives chemistry.
Don't be fooled by the word export on the packaging)
Rcheuli tea is also very popular. I personally like him much less than Gurieli.
There are many different flavors, including fruity ones. But he's kind of weird.
Berga
Berga tea is not Georgian, but it is sold in almost all stores and it is delicious.
This is Azerbaijani tea, black (and as the name implies) with bergamot.
Delicious, flavorful, rich.
Azerbaijan
The name seems to hint that tea is also not Georgian, but you can buy it on almost every corner.
Happy tea! Ciao!
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