A Sip of Tea in the Caucasus

Tea represents a significant segment of the Turkish culture. On August 16, in Rike Park, an exhibition of the Turkish tea brand ‘Caykur’ took place under the slogan ‘A Sip of Tea in the Caucasus’. The Ambassador of Turkey to Georgia, H.E. Zeki Levent Gumrukcu, and the representatives of various companies attended.

“Turkish tea is an indispensable part of Turkish culture and life,” said the Ambassador. “Everything starts with tea and ends with tea. Nobody can count how many cups we have each day. Georgians also love tea. The best tea for Turkey comes from the Black Sea Rize and Trabzon areas. [In the past], our neighbors introduced tea to us. Now, we have Caykur, a state institution, producing, selling and implementing tea in Turkey. They also have a tradition of taking tea to neighboring friendly countries in order to promote the brand. That’s why they are not only providing hot tea free of charge today, but also cold tea, ice tea, and flavored tea as well”.

“This is the 10th country we are visiting,” Hikmet Eren, Chairman of the Board of Eurasia Economic Relations Association told GEORGIA TODAY. “It symbolizes the unity and relations between Georgia and Turkey. Represented here is the most natural tea, which occupies first place in Turkey. We will visit Azerbaijan next: we, Georgians, Turks and Azeris, are friends and we want tea to also be a connection between us.”

As a culmination of the event and a demonstration of friendship, Georgian and Turkish dances were performed. The exhibition went from Tbilisi to Marneuli, a region inhabited predominantly by Azeris. The Caykur team have visited the Balkan countries of Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Maka Lomadze