Tea Fest in Mtatsminda Park
On April 23, the Tbilisi International Tea Festival took place in Mtatsminda Park, an event attracting numerous locals, tourists, officials, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.
Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Agriculture, opened the occasion, which saw the participation of a number of private companies (LTDs and cooperatives), the British Embassy in Georgia, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Center of Japanese Language and Culture, and Indian and Sri-Lankan companies.
Besides teas, the event also showcased a variety of Georgian desserts, including honey, Tatara, Churchkhela, etc., with visitors given a chance to first sample the products before deciding whether to buy. Contests and award-giving ceremonies were also held. The event was accompanied with dancing performed by children from the various tea-producing countries.
GEORGIA TODAY spoke to Tengiz Svanidze, President of the Tea Producers Association, organizer of the event: “Since 2006, the festival has been happening annually. Generally speaking, it aims at popularizing tea culture. There are not many producers at present, nor is the number of tea producing countries high, so all companies were welcome [at the festival]. We always aim to invite foreign enterprises, as where competition is present, quality is also present”.
There is an apparent deficiency of tea leaves and to deal with this, the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture has launched a rehabilitation program for tea plantations.
“We hope that as a result of this program, plantations will be restored and we will have more tea inside the country,” Svanidze said. “If the factories are restored, too, this will mean more employment and more delicious Georgian tea”.
Svanidze says the largest importer of tea to Georgia is Azerbaijan, which does not produce but only packs tea, like Great Britain. “I believe that Georgian tea will find its niche at least locally, if not as an export product,” he said.
Minister Davitashvili noted: “The Georgian cooperatives represented here are ones that very actively take part in the state program of rehabilitating tea plantations. We believe that this branch will develop as the relevant potential is already there. Today, we can see that the quality of local tea products is quite high and the assortment sufficiently great”.
Tea was once more popular in Georgia than coffee- this in the days when Georgia enjoyed its own plantations. Tea culture has existed since 1847, making 2017 the 70th anniversary year. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of the restoration of the Georgian tea-drinking tradition, not only to restore the once famed association with art and literary salons, but for the strengthening of biological national production.
The history [Source georgiaabout.com]
Georgian tea originated from seeds smuggled out of China by 19th century Georgian prince, Miha Eristavi who first encountered tea during his travels across China in the 1830s. At the time, exporting tea seeds from China was forbidden so the prince hid some in a length of bamboo. Back in Georgia, he used the seeds to create the first tea plantations. In 1864, the Prince entered samples of his Georgian tea at the Russian International Exhibition in St. Petersburg and by the turn of the century Georgian tea was winning prizes and was awarded a gold medal at the World’s Fair in Paris. Georgian tea increased in economic importance when the Tea and Subtropical Cultures Research Institute was founded in Anaseuli, western Georgia, where new varieties of tea were grown, focusing on tender shoots and special aromas. By the 1930s, Georgia had become the main supplier of tea for the whole of the Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, the drive to meet the huge demand significantly affected the quality and the reputation of the tea and by the 1990s many of Georgia’s plantations had been cut down or abandoned.
Recently, the Georgian government allocated resources for the restoration of tea plantations and existing plantations are being revitalized in western Georgia’s sub-tropical regions, especially Guria.
Approximately 90% of production is exported, mainly to Ukraine, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mongolia and Middle Eastern countries. Exports to the USA are growing. Western Georgia’s mild climate is ideal for growing unique tasting ecologically pure, pesticide-free tea, acknowledged as one of the best worldwide.
Various health benefits are attributed to Georgian tea. Black teas have been found to have a beneficial effect in preventing cardiovascular complications while the green teas are rich in antioxidants. Georgian tea is also said to have a significant effect on bone health as it increases bone density and helps to prevent osteoporosis.
Maka Lomadze