Tea factories in Georgia. Tea from Georgia

History Georgian tea has more than one millennium. And although this story had many difficult stages, a short period of flourishing, but it is interesting and worth remembering. When did Georgian tea appear?

By the 19th century, tea had become very popular in Russia. It was imported into the country in tens of thousands of tons. Such popularity gave rise to the idea that tea should be cultivated in their own country. The most promising area was considered the Caucasian coast. It is worth noting that Georgia at that time was part of the Russian Empire.

For the first time, tea bushes were planted in Russia after the end of the war with Napoleon. Duke E.O. Richelieu ordered to deliver them to the Imperial Botanical Garden near Yalta. Unfortunately, the first bushes died. After 16 years, the attempt was repeated, this time the experiment was a success. Saplings brought from China gave seeds. Nikolay Gartvis, director of the museum, having studied the properties of the plant, recommended further cultivation on the Caucasian coast. And the seedlings were sent to the Sukhum Botanical Garden and Ozurgeti.

In Ozurgeti, 200 tea bushes were planted in the state garden, another batch of seedlings was planted in the garden of Prince David Dadiani of Mingrelian. The exotic plant successfully took root, gave seeds, but it was not easy to get government funding for a large plantation. It was only at the end of the 19th century that it became possible to continue the commercial cultivation of tea in the Caucasus. The company "K. and S. Popovs ”, land was purchased for tea plantations in Kapreshumi, Salibauri, Chakve for tea plantations. More than a million rubles were invested in the event.

The company was headed by the merchant Popov K.S., for patronage he invited Liu Jun Zhou, a specialist from China. The work in Chakwa was organized like a typical village factory. Frying pans, bamboo baskets, and winnowing machines for tea production were brought from China. The plantations were planted with imported tea. By 1897, they managed to get about 500 kg of leaf per year. Chakwe tea received a gold medal at the Paris exhibition. This marked the beginning of the development of tea growing in Georgia.

Before the revolution, there were already three tea factories in the Caucasus. They were big enough, equipped with English cars. There were also handicraft enterprises. They processed raw materials that they collected on their own plantations. By 1917, tea plantations occupied about 1000 hectares of land. Despite the fact that the gross volume was 140 tons, they did not make up even one percent of tea imports to Russia. The varieties "Kara-Dere", "Bogatyr", "Ozurgetskiy", "Zedoban" were recognized as very high quality. Georgian tea from the KS Popov factory was valued above the rest.

History of Georgian tea 1917-1940

With the outbreak of the First World War, the development of tea growing in the Caucasus stopped. The tea districts were occupied by the Turks in April 1918, then the British came. Tea farms were abandoned and destroyed in some places. After the revolution, private tea companies were nationalized and transferred under the control of the Tsentrochai organization.

In 1921, at the congress of tea growers, a set of measures was developed to revive the tea industry in Chakva. And four years later, 10 wagons of Georgian tea were sent to the Nizhny Novgorod fair. At the same time, the leadership was transferred to the JSC "Tea-Georgia". The government viewed the development of tea business in this region as a program of great importance. An experimental station was opened in Chakva, and the All-Union Scientific Research Institute in the Ozergutsky District.

If in 1921 Georgia produced 550 tons of tea, then by 1940 there were already 51,300 varietal tea leaves. In the 30s, all equipment for the production of tea began to be made directly in Georgia. In 1932, artificial leaf wilting was introduced using special cameras by Sh. Mardeleishvili. This reduced the duration of the process.

The tea leaves were picked by hand. Tea Stakhanovites began to appear. In 1936, tea picker Patsia Dolidze set a world record, she collected 120.7 kg of leaf in one day. Girls did 250% each daily value, becoming participants in socialist competitions. In 1957, Tatiana Chaidze's link (in the third photo) harvested almost 9 kilograms of leaves from one hectare. In 1959, the world record for Ceylon tea growers was broken, Tatiana Chaidze harvested 16450 kg of tea leaves from one hectare.

Tea growing development 1940-2000

By 1959, 65 factories were successfully operating in the Caucasus, of which eight produced only green tea, demanded by the peoples of Central Asia. During the year, Tea-Georgia produced more than 28 tons of black long tea, almost 6000 tons of green tea, about 9000 tons of brick green tea. Tea was delivered to Odessa, Moscow, Irkutsk, Samarkand to tea-packing factories. Georgian tea was packed in paper or cardboard packaging, gift metal boxes.

Georgian black was produced in several varieties. "Bouquet" and "Extra" contained tips and top leaves. Black leaf cut tea of ​​the first collection was produced under the highest grade. Tea of ​​the second grade contained many foreign inclusions, it was made from tea twigs collected by machines. Tea "Vigor" and "Tea No. 36" were blended teas. They were composed of a mixture of Indian, Georgian and Ceylon teas.

Georgian green tea was produced more widely, it contained commercial varieties under numbers from 10 to 125. Teas of the highest quality (above No. 125) were considered "Extra" and "Bouquet of Georgia". The first grade included teas №110, 100, 95, 85. The third - №40, 35, 25, 20, 15, 10. The second grade - №65, 60, 55, 45. Top grade- No. 125 and 111 for all indicators passed the world level of green tea quality.

Heyday and decline

In the 60s and 70s, Georgian tea growing flourished. But then there was a rapid decline. The quality of tea was also affected by the transition from manual picking to mechanical picking, and the violation of processing cycles in order to speed up the process. Moreover, people were not interested in the production of tea, believing that fruits can be earned faster and more. In the 80s, the production of tea in Georgia decreased by 2 times, after the collapse Soviet Union production is abandoned.

Only 3 tea factories remained operational, the rest were redesigned. The tea plantations are overgrown with weeds. Even the local population prefers to drink imported tea, the share of Georgian tea in the domestic market is less than 10%.

Today tea production in Georgia is practically not developing. The factory in Chakva produces only brick green tea for the peoples of Central Asia. The production of elite teas, required by laborious processes, has been abandoned. Now in Georgia, like many years ago, tea is produced in an artisanal way by people who are passionate about tea culture. I would like to believe that someday tea production in this country will revive again, and we will still be able to pamper ourselves with a mug of aromatic Georgian tea.

Of all the union republics for growing tea Georgia and Armenia were ideal. The end of the 20s of the last century was marked by the launch of Georgian tea... Tea factories were built, smashed tea plantations... And in the 30s, the same tendency swept the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1937, the country learned azerbaijani tea.

Territory Krasnodar Territory became the third, where they continued to grow and produce tea... Indeed, the climate was warm and humid, that is, optimal for the tea plant. In 1936, the first tea plantations appeared in two districts (Adlerovsky, Lazarevsky). Due to the second world war, all developments in this direction had to be curtailed. It became possible to return to work again only by 1949. Later, plantations were added in three more districts of the region (Maikop, Goryache-Klyuchevskoy, Tula).

The planting area expanded. Stavrapolye, Ukrainian and Kazakh SSR became experimental sites for cultivation tea... In general, we can say that attempts to cultivate tea in these regions have not failed. Winter did not destroy the plantings, quality of tea was relative. However, the country's leadership considered the experiment unprofitable, and tea production in these regions it was suspended, and did not have time to start.

The main tea regions were Georgia, Azerbaijan and Krasnodar region... By 1980, tea began to be harvested in Georgia using technology. No machine can compare to picking tea by hand. The collection began to be carried out in the rain. Quality of Georgian tea fell sharply. People began to literally sweep off the shelves. ceylon and indian tea.

By the 80th year good tea became a scarce product. Tea remained in the public domain very Bad quality... This included tea brought to the USSR from Turkey.

In the Soviet Union they drank mainly Black tea... The most elite teas were called "Bouquet" (a bouquet of Georgia, for example). The next step was occupied by Extra tea. It included tea buds. In terms of quality and aroma, it was slightly inferior to Bouquet. Further, the grades were arranged as follows: the highest, first and second grade. The second grade was of poor quality.

Azerbaijani tea was rather fine.

Krasnodar tea was distinguished by a wonderful aroma and sweetish taste. But it was problematic to preserve these properties. Packaging and delivery destroyed the quality of the tea.

Green tea in the USSR was only its own. Supplies from abroad were out of the question. O as green tea judged by the numbers. Sorts No. 125 and 111 were considered elite.

Brick tea was very popular. These are compressed tea leaves in the shape of a brick.

There were varieties of tea from a mixture of Indian and Georgian tea. They wore numbers 20 and 36.

Tea drinking in the USSR

In Soviet Union drank tea just like in pre-revolutionary Russia. That is, with sweets, jam, cookies and gingerbread. They added cream and milk to it.

It is interesting:

Residents of foreign countries have a firm conviction that in the USSR they drank tea only with lemon.

Tea was the end of the meal. Many loved to drink tea with pieces of refined sugar. And to this day, when they say: "Buy something for tea," they mean sweets.

The October Revolution, one way or another, made everyone more and less equal. That's why tea tableware was practically the same in all families. Porcelain services were used only by representatives of those in power.

In public canteens tea poured into glass glasses.

It is interesting

On the trains, the conductors brought tea in glasses with cup holders and lumps of sugar packed in miniature 4 pieces per package.

Tea was boiled in electric samovars and teapots. Whistling tea was considered a special rarity.

Despite the fact that those distant times have long since sunk into oblivion, we still remember them with warmth. Many families still keep electric samovars, which the owners sometimes take out, put in the middle of the table and have tea like their distant ancestors.

The history of a large-scale tea project in brief. Popular brands of tea from Georgia. Reasons for a negative attitude towards the drink. How to please yourself while brewing Georgian tea.

Shop counters are stocked with a variety of teas. Among them, there is almost always only one missing, which is remembered by many since Soviet times - Georgian tea. Maybe because it was remembered for its poor quality. But there were reasons for this.

A bit of history

The point is not even that tea plantations in Georgia appeared relatively recently - at the beginning of the twentieth century. Prior to this, attempts to grow it did not lead to noticeable results. But plant breeders managed to adapt the Chinese tea bushes (the Keemun variety was used) to the conditions of the Georgian area and achieved a good quality of raw materials. Georgian teas surpassed the Chinese originals in some respects. The share of tips (not unfolded tea leaf buds) - the most valuable ingredients in the dry mix - reached 5.5%. This is a pretty high figure. At the Paris exhibition in 1899, Georgian tea called "Dyadushkin's Russian tea" was awarded a gold medal. But production volumes were scanty, and the product remained unknown to most buyers.

Long and fruitful work on a scientific basis to create new varieties of shrubs began in the 1920s. To carry out breeding work, a research institute of tea growing was created. The area of ​​tea plantations has significantly expanded (up to 60 thousand hectares), dozens of tea factories have been built. High quality plant varieties have been developed that can withstand low temperatures. Various brands of the product went on sale, the most famous of which can be called "Bouquet of Georgia", Georgian Tea 36, ​​Tea 20. At the end of the 70s, Georgian tea was imported from dozens of countries in Europe and Asia. And in the Soviet Union, it became the most affordable and widespread drink.

How tea's bad reputation came about

But no one would dare to call him beloved. The increase in production and the technological innovations introduced for this purpose turned into a real disaster, a sharp degradation of quality. The era of hand picking of tea leaves is over. Tea harvesting machines, when the decisive issue was not quality, but speed, worked roughly. The rejection of some technological links and simplification of the tea leaf fermentation process also played a role. As a result, cuttings of shoots, coarse lower foliage and even dust were insisted in a cup of tea. It was no longer necessary to speak about the taste and aroma of such a drink.

The situation was saved by tea compositions made from various raw materials. Popular was Georgian Tea 36, ​​which is still produced today. It is a blend of Georgian and Indian teas, therefore it has a more astringent taste compared to Georgian. Indian should be at least 36% by volume of the mixture.

Today is a drink day from Georgia

In recent years, the Georgian product has occupied a small segment of the tea market, which is defined as 3.5%, influenced by a long-standing prejudice against this product. Despite the fact that the quality of tea has changed for the better. Along with the old ones, okay famous brands(Georgian Tea 36), there were also new ones - "Gurieli", "Tkibuli". These varieties are exported to Poland, Germany, the USA and the countries of Central Asia.

To enjoy the Georgian tea drink, you need to learn how to brew it correctly. For one cup of strong drink, you need one and a half to two teaspoons of tea leaves. In this case, we get a high-quality, light-colored tea with a mild taste and original aroma. Remember that Georgian tea is infused quickly.

The original brewing method

Tea connoisseurs suggest this tricky way: the teapot must be heated to 100% temperature while remaining dry. This can be done on a gas burner fire, taking precautions, or in a saucepan of boiling water. Dry tea leaves are pre-sieved through a sieve to remove debris, and they are poured into a container with 1.5 teaspoons per glass and 2 more teaspoons per kettle. In an incandescent teapot, the tea leaves will be dry heated and, as a result, the taste and aroma will be released. Pour boiling water over and let it brew for three and a half minutes, sometimes two is enough. And you can enjoy Georgian tea.

Tea No. 36 Georgian black long tea - In the early years of Soviet power, apparently, there were no problems with tea - tea (Indian) was bought in Torgsins and shops of colonial goods. Tea was packed in special tin boxes.

In the 20s of the twentieth century, a state program for the development of tea business in Georgia was adopted. The breeding work was put on a scientific basis, for this the Anaseul Research Institute of Tea, Tea Industry and Subtropical Crops was established.

Several dozen tea factories were built in different regions of Western Georgia. To replace the manual collection of tea, special tea harvesters have been developed. In 1986, production finished products reached 150 thousand tons, slab black and green - 8 thousand tons, green brick - 9 thousand tons.

Today we offer you real Georgian tea No. 36 so familiar to the older generation. In terms of its quality, modern tea is in no way inferior to the rarity produced in the 20th century !!!

Georgian tea has more than 170 years of history. The climatic conditions here are perfect for growing tea. Western Georgia, where tea grows, is an isolated ecosystem surrounded by mountains and located in close proximity to the warm Black Sea. Clean mountain rivers enrich the soil with minerals and therefore tea plantations in Georgia do not require irrigation. Covering the tea bushes with snow makes the tea bushes resistant to disease and therefore does not need chemical fertilization.

The first tea bushes appeared in Georgia in 1847. The founder of tea production in Georgia is considered to be the Chinese tea master Lau Zhang Zhau. It was with his participation that in 1900 Georgian tea was awarded a gold medal at an exhibition in Paris.

After the establishment of Soviet power, the tea industry in Georgia developed intensively. The largest scientific and material-technical base was created, new frost-resistant varieties of tea began to be cultivated. In Soviet times, Russia, which included Georgia, was one of the leading tea-producing countries in the world. To increase the volume of tea production, manual picking of tea leaves was replaced by machine picking. As a result, the technology of tea production was violated, and its quality dropped dramatically.

Intensive development of tea production in Georgia took place up to the 80s of the last century. With the collapse of the USSR, tea plantations in Georgia were abandoned, and tea-making technologies were lost.

In 2006, after a long stagnation of the tea business in Georgia, businessman Shota Bitadze decided to revive tea plantations and restore the production of high-quality Georgian tea. He studied tea business in several provinces of China and established contacts with colleagues from other producing countries.

After returning to Georgia, Shota Bitadze with a group of like-minded people begins to restore tea plantations. The technology of production of high-quality environmentally friendly tea began to be actively introduced.

At this time, the "Association of Organic Tea Producers of Georgia" was created, which unites private farms in Georgia, producing tea according to the high standards developed by the association.

What is the peculiarity of Georgian tea?

The traditional Chinese way of growing tea involves the use of seedlings for propagation. The sprouts grown from the seeds were removed. Thus, monoplantations of certain types of tea were created.

In Soviet times, the production technology involved planting tea seeds directly in open ground... In the process of growth, tea plants were crossed. As a result, plantations were obtained with heterogeneous tea plants that were different from the mother bushes. Thus, wild natural selection of the tea plant took place in Georgia. And, as a result, we have on the one hand - accustomed to environmental conditions, genetically stable, healthy plant. And on the other hand - originally cultivated, but feral tea plants of various varieties.

In our store, you can. Our tea has a rich aroma and tart taste... Tea leaves from different regions of Georgia have a pronounced distinctive taste. And we have the ability to produce various types of Georgian tea, depending on the location and the use of a certain technology.

At present, Bitadze Tea Exclusive tea of ​​the Georgian Association of Organic Tea Producers is a guarantee of high quality. All our teas are certified organically grown and produced.

As well as green, white and herbal teas. Our teas contain only natural additives. In addition, you can buy unique mountain tea from wild trees from us! Remember, all our teas are organic! It is grown in ecologically clean regions without the use of chemical fertilizers!