Georgian tea – a lost industry
Few people know that Georgia was once the world’s fourth-largest producer of tea. The tea bush arrived in Georgia in the 19th century and plantations quickly covered the subtropical hills.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia grappled with corruption, gangsters and civil wars. The tea industry disappeared leaving behind ruined factories, abandoned theatres, hectares of overgrown tea bushes, and no jobs.
Tea is vital to communities
We have explored Georgia’s tea-growing regions in-depth and seen the scars left behind by the loss of a vital industry. The economy in rural Georgia is on its knees. Many young people leave their towns and villages and head to the city in search of a better life. Life is slowly draining from rural regions.
Those who stay behind are often forced into unsustainable employment such as illegal logging or mining. The revival of the tea industry could be a lifeline for Georgia’s rural communities.
Georgia has a unique tea culture
Long before the tea plant came to Georgia, mountainous communities hand-rolled the leaves of trees and bushes that grew around them. If you hike through Georgia’s mountains, you may be invited for a pot of wild blueberry leaf tea by a semi-nomadic family. They leave the pot bubbling on the fire for days. Unlike black tea, it doesn’t become tannic.
No one could tell us exactly how long this tradition has existed. Some people think that locals may have been inspired by tea merchants who travelled through Georgia along the Silk Road.
Tea makers hope for change
A small number of Georgian teamakers are working to revive their lost industry. They are hoping to raise the profile of Georgian tea by focusing on quality, organic methods, and innovation.
The teamakers we met help each other out, united by their vision of reviving Georgian tea and benefiting their communities. They are drawing on Georgia’s traditions to create innovative teas.
