Tea culture in Georgia - (The past, present and future)

December 04 2025, by Tea Country, 25 min reading time

“Thanks to our climate where tea and other precious subtropical crops rejoice, It is a big mistake to use the land to cultivate priceless intakes. If we export our invaluable products to the neighborhood and import the ones we need most, we will see a mutual gain”. Ilia Chavchavadze (“Iveria” news 1894)

1. Foundations of the tea

Industry in Georgia Georgia is a tea-producing and exporting country with a 175- year history of cultivating and spreading the tea plant. The year 1848 is considered to be the date of the introduction of the tea plant to Georgia. The plants obtained from Chinese tea seeds in the Nikiti Botanical Garden (Crimea, Ukraine) were planted for the first time in the newly created botanical garden in Abkhazia-Sukhumi. In the same period, the tea plant spread in Zugdidi Samegrelo Prince Dadiani’s estate and in Guria’s Ozurgeti Goraberezhouli plant acclimatization station, in the estate of Mikheil Eristavi. Therefore, the zonal distribution of the tea plant was carried out in the regions of Western Georgia. In all the above-mentioned geographical places, the tea plant has developed successfully. According to available information, the plantations of Zugdidi were destroyed in 1855 during the Crimean War between Russia and Turkey.

At the dawn of national tea growth, the noble activity of Mikheil Eristavi was invaluable. In 1857, in the acclimatization nur- sery of Ozurgeti (the former estate of Gurieli), during the hos- tilities between Russia and Turkey, he moved the tea bushes that survived the destruction to his own garden, in the village of Goraberezhouli (Chokhatauri). He intended to create a large subtropical farm. For this purpose, M. Eristavi made a special trip to China, where according to the purchased manuscript “Advice-Dispensations”, he planted a tea plantation in his estate, the first in Georgia, and in 1861 he made the first Georgian tea in an artisanal manner.

In 1864, he presented tea samples from the harvest of 1861-1863 at the St. Petersburg Agricultural Exhibition. In 1882, the first small-scale plantations were planted in Sukhumi and Batumi with tea seeds and seedlings brought from Khankou province in China.

The history of planting the first large-scale industrial tea plantations and the construction of properly equipped raw ma- terial processing factories began in 1892-1893 from China and Japan by expeditions (1893, 1895-1896) organized under the leadership of professors Vladimir Tikhomirov and Andrei Krasnov (later, in 1912, the founder of Batumi Botanical Garden).

With tea seeds and seedlings imported from India, Java and Ceylon, industrial plantations were established in Chikhara and Salibaur. 1893 Tea samples made in Chakvi won a gold medal at the Tbilisi Agricultural Exhibition. In 1898, a tea factory was built in Salibauri and were equipped with technological facilities brought from England. By 1916, the area of tea in Chakvi princely estate was 550 ha. This is how tea farms and companies based on market relations were formed. In 1914, the Zvani tea factory started to operate. By 1921, the total area of tea plantations in Georgia was 915.5 ha. 88.7 tons of finished tea were produced from 380 tons of raw materials (yield ratio — 4.2841).
Following the violent overthrow of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the Soviet government completely nationalized tea farms. The state was the only owner of the plantations and tea processing factories, with the exception that the population planted tea bushes in their homesteads and donated the harvested leaves to the tea factories at relatively high prices. Private areas accounted for about 0.05- 0.07% of the total tea plantations.

The task of the further development of tea growth was solved on the basis of the collectivization of agriculture, the creation of large farms and machine-tractor stations. Since the formation of the tea industry, significant attention has been paid to the creation of means of mechanization of time consuming operations, equipping technological processes with continuous action equipment and the implementation of a full cycle of flow production, which was successfully solved.

Since 1995, the process of privatization of state property began, and today almost 100% of the Georgian tea industry is privatized. The season of tea vegetation and picking in Georgia lasts 120-150 days.

2. Statistics of tea production

In 1900, there were a total of 223.5 ha of tea plantations in West Georgia, and by 1914, the area had reached 900 hectares. It should be noted that out of 642 tons of green leaves produced in 1915, 153 tons of finished products were produced. During this period, 6 tea factories were operating in West Georgia. The produced tea was of low quality, which was caused by the low level of technical equipment of the enterprises and the inexperience of the working staff.

The large-scale development of the tea industry in Georgia begins with the decision of the government after the establishment of the joint-stock company “Georgian Tea”. The joint-stock company was officially founded on November 25, 1925, and began full-scale activity in 1926.

The attempt to create a joint-stock company made in 1872 still existed. The functions of the joint stock company “Tea of Georgia” included:

— To increase the area of tea plantations and for this purpose to give a helping hand to peasants, to transfer seeds and credit for growing plantations;
— organization of agro-services and study of soils of Mechaiobi districts;
— construction of tea factories;
— increasing the quality of raw and finished tea;
— scientific research activities, training of qualified staff and so on.
Later the joint stock company was converted into a tea trust.
The area of tea plantations was 1325 hectares at the time of the beginning of the operation of the joint-stock company “Sakartvelo”.

Chai Already in 1928, the area of tea plantations was 3,138 hectares, and in the following years, according to the years: in 1931

– 41,652 ha, in 1941 – 51,552 ha, in 1950 – 48,612 ha, in 1955
– 52,000 ha. In the 80s of the 20th century, the total area of tea

plantations in Georgia reached 65,000 ha. In the subsequent period, practically no new plantations were cultivated. Since the 90s of the last century, after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the process of stagnation of the Georgian tea industry began.

Georgia’s position in the global tea industry

During the last 20 years, tea production has decreased significantly and amounts to approximately 2-5 thousand tons of finished products annually (Table 2), which was mainly caused by the loss of traditional large-scale markets and the significant increase in the price of energy resources required for tea industries. For several years, tea production was practically stopped, which led to the deforestation of tea plantations and the break-down of the existing infrastructure. There was also no technical rearmament and assimilation of new technologies.

New trends have emerged in the last period. In particular, operating large-scale enterprises try not to lose old customers to low-quality products and at the same time start technical retooling for high-quality tea production. Small enterprises have also been established, which have acquired tea plantations of 1-50 ha and rehabilitated them, harvesting green leaves mainly by hand and hand-picking machines, using modified old equipment in technological processes and trying to partially revive it with imported equipment. At the same time, high-quality tea is produced, which is mainly sold in the local market at a rather high price.

Georgia has many advantages, so it can again occupy its niche in the tea industry by producing quality products. These capabilities are based on the following specific constraints:

• The existence of unique Georgian selective varieties – they differ from the existing varieties of all other producing countries and are distinguished by special aromatic and taste properties.

• Soil – there is exceptionally suitable soil for Georgian selective varieties, which makes it possible to get the maximum technological potential from the tea plant.

• Climatic conditions – during the winter, tea bushes are covered with snow, which excludes the use of pesticides and practically determines the ecological purity of the products.

• The presence of a wide range of tea varieties also allows for the production of a wide range of ready-made teas.

• The natural ratio of polyphenols, protein and other compounds present in Georgian selective varieties allows for the production of green tea with exceptional quality and distinctive taste, which is confirmed by many years of experience.

• Location – Georgia is very close to European markets and is geographically in the center of the largest tea-consuming countries, where it is possible to connect with land and sea transport, which significantly reduces costs.

• A century and a half history of growing and processing tea culture.

• Easy availability of qualified workforce in the field.

• Very interesting to say, for lovers of new products with a different history.

4. Market position

The main volume of tea products produced in Georgia is a commodity that is sold directly from the production company to the consumer or reseller. In 1991-1992, there was an attempt to create a tea auction in Georgia, but it was unsuccessful, due to the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the civil war in Georgia. Companies mostly try to sell their products by themselves or small enterprises unite under the auspices of associations and jointly carry out international sales. As for the local market, it is about 1200 tons, in which about 55-70% is imported tea, and the rest is high-quality local product.

5. Qualitative indicators

Geographical factor and soil-climatic conditions affect the biochemical and technological indicators of tea raw materials. Georgian tea is distinguished by its unique taste and aroma properties. These indicators depend on the varietal composition of the plant, agro-technical measures, techno-logical parameters of processing and environmental factors.

The formation of a perfect “bouquet” is connected with the sharp day-to-day change of the environmental temperature and relative humidity as a result of the influence of geographical factor. Tea made in the conditions of the north is characterized by a special gentle aroma and a relatively small amount of secondary metabolism products. When evaluating the quality of these products, aroma is an indicator of special importance. This explains the distinctiveness of Georgian green tea with its qualitative indicators from similar products of other countries.

Based on the results of the study of the main quality-determining substances, the possibility of producing high-quality specialized Georgian tea with distinctive characteristics is substantiated.

The green tea processing process in Georgia is completely standardized and appropriate technologies and machines have been created. The mildness of the taste and the tenderness of the aroma characteristic of Georgian black tea are the distinctive features and peculiarities of the products obtained from local varieties. Green Agura tea is produced in Georgia, which is significantly different from Baikh tea in terms of raw material quality and processing technology. Rough tea leaves are used as raw material and appropriate technology and machinery are designed. The mentioned products are successfully sold in the Russian Federation and Mongolia.

There was a quality assessment system in the country that was in line with international standards. Today, the qualitative division (FOP, BOP, Fanning, Dust and others) is exactly the same as in other countries of the world. From the period of the country’s independence until 2004, there was a state body “Sakstandarti”, which controlled the quality of manufactured products based on a mandatory rule through the bodies and laboratories accredited by it for the certification of uniform products. Since March 2015, all food product manufacturing enterprises operating in Georgia are obliged to implement the HAChP or ISO standard of food safety, otherwise, their activities will be suspended.

6. Technological components

In Georgia, the works of designing, manufacturing and implementing technological equipment for the primary processing of tea were developed at a modern level.

The focus on volume has limited the concern for the production of technological equipment of high quality products as much as possible. Accordingly, the decrease in the volume of tea ex-port and production was followed by the cessation of operation of the majority of enterprises manufacturing technological equipment.

Nevertheless, Georgia still remains a country with the greatest relevant scientific and engineering potential, where research works are continuously being carried out in the direction of developing new technologies and perfecting tea production.

Over the past 10 years, many small enterprises have equipped themselves with small-scale imported and locally produced technological equipment either individually or as part of a state-sponsored tea project.

On an industrial scale, until 1936, only black tea was produced in Georgia using orthodox technology (withering, triple twisting with intermediate fractionation, fermentation, drying and sorting of semi-finished products). Since 1937, the technology of green tea has been used using the steaming method (steaming, drying, twisting, drying off, and sorting of semi-finished products). In 1957, along with steaming, the production of green tea using the fixation method was introduced. Instead of water vapor, moist air with high temperature was used. The use of this method made it possible to combine the evaporation and drying operations into a single process. Later (in the 80s of the last century), the production of green tea was transferred to the roasting method using the appropriate drum-type technological equipment. Currently, the institute is working on the creation of a new generation of energy-saving green tea-fixing technological equipment.

The period of utilization of green tea production coincides with the putting into operation of a specialized green brick (briquette) tea factory.

In order to increase the specific share of broken (fine) tea, in the 70s of the last century, machines working on the principle of crushing and crushing were created. As a result of the inclusion of cutting and crushing processes in the twisting cycle, full mechanization of flow production and twisting-fermentation processes became possible.

“CTC” type technology is not used in Georgian tea industry. Nevertheless, since the 80s of the last century, “CTC” type granulated tea has been produced from finely dispersed (Dust, Fan-nings) products with special technology and equipment, which were developed for this purpose and have no analogies.

The 70s and 80s of the last century belong to the commissioning of dry and liquid concentrate enterprises. In the same period, the production of non-alcoholic tonic drinks based on liquid tea concentrates and natural food dyes (red, yellow, etc.) from tea acquired a large scale.

The institute continues to work in the direction of innovative energy-saving technologies and technical means of tea cultivation and processing.

7. Social issues

One of the main sources of income for the population of Western Georgia was tea. Their interest led to the knowledge of the specifics of tea cultivation and processing. Most of these people are tea-growers of several generations and still have a great desire to earn the money necessary for their existence through daily labor, close to their homes.

In the Soviet period, highly qualified engineering and technical personnel were involved in tea growing and processing, using their experience and taking into account modern standards, it is easy to achieve success in the tea business. The availability of labor is relatively less of a problem for the Georgian tea industry.

In the process of picking tea, mainly (50-60%) mechanized picking with hand tools and mobile equipment is used. Cha-900 tea cutting machine and “Georgia” mobile machine working on the principle of selective tea picking were created in Georgia. In addition to selective picking of tea, if equipped with the appropriate executive mechanisms, the machine also performed the technological measures of pruning, cultivation, and dosing of fertilizer in various modes. The last modification of this picking machine was made in the late 1990s, although it still performs its tasks quite successfully.

In the late 80s of the 20th century, about 17 thousand hectares of tea plantations in Georgia were electrified for the use of manual tea threshers and picking machines powered by electric motors, while 8 thousand hectares were harvested using internal combustion micro-motorized manual picking machines. Thus, at the end of the 80s, more than half of the tea plantations in Georgia were harvested with different levels of mechanization. All necessary equipment for tea picking machines, as well as manual tea picking and crushing machines were produced in Georgia.

In addition to mechanized picking, manual picking is used in order to obtain high-quality tea and in the conditions of plantations grown on slopes, although recently the demand for manual picking machines is increasing.

The institute continues scientific research and technological work in the direction of creating and perfecting tea bush thresher, plantation inter-row processor and tea hand picking machines.

8. R&D – research and development

The first studies on the tea plant in Georgia began in 1889 at the Zvani experimental station in Ozurgeti, and the beginning of successive research works dates back to 1901 at the same institution. In 1914, Professor Viktor Vorontsov established a chemical laboratory near the experimental station and began re-search, which laid the foundation for the study of the problem of biochemistry and technology of Georgian tea. Purposeful scientific and research activity begins in 1926, together with the beginning of the functioning of the joint stock company “Georgian Tea”.

In the development of the tea industry, the role of the Scientific Research Institute of Tea, Subtropical Cultures and Tea Industry, which has been operating since 1930, 20 km from the Black Sea coast, in a settlement specially created for this purpose in Anaseul, Ozurgeti city, is extremely important. The institute’s scientific researches were based on tea selection, soil-climatic and local characteristics care – cultivation and processing technologies, creation of new generation machines and devices, which ensured a high, stable harvest and quality products in the northernmost subtropics of the world.

The work done in the selection direction in the institute is invaluable. Under the leadership of Academician Ksenia Bakhtadze, more than 20 high-quality and high-yielding selective varieties and clones of Georgian tea “Kolkhida” have been bred. The institute developed plant nutrition and soil fertilization systems using mineral and organic fertilizers; artificial drilling and fixing continuous action devices are created; twisting rollers and crushing machines of different performance and intensity; Automated flow lines for twisted-fermentation of fermented tea leaves; Technologies for making liquid and dry concentrates, biologically active extracts and substances (caffeine, phenolic compounds), tonic drinks, flavored and vitaminized tea with natural components have been developed; Tools for determining the quality of raw materials and impurities in products.

The activity of the Scientific-Research Institute of Tea, Sub-tropical Cultures and Tea Industry was known to the entire tea world through the scientific journal “Subtropical Cultures” published here.

A.N. is great in the development of biochemical bases of tea production. The role of the Bach Institute of Biochemistry, headed by Academician Andrei Oparin (a biochemist who developed the theory of the origin of life on Earth).

The role of the Mechanization and Electrification Scientific Institute is great in the direction of mechanization of laborious operations of tea plantations and harvesting of raw materials.

The role of the Sergi Durmishidze Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology in the study of tea plant oxidation-reduction enzymes and their role in the biotechnology of soluble tea and concentrates is important.

9. Tea production in Georgia: Current situation and prospects

The future strategy for the development of the Georgian tea sector is mainly high-quality and organic tea production, both for local and international markets. To achieve this goal, the state started implementing the “Georgian Tea” program in 2016, within the framework of which the rehabilitation works of tea plantations owned by cooperatives and other types of tea plantations are financed. Within the program, up to 1800 ha of tea plantations have been rehabilitated. The results obtained in this direction show that the effective use of the raw material base, the production of competitive products equipped with new technologies of processing enterprises is actually an achievable task.

The situation in Georgia’s tea production sector can be an alyzed by assessing its strength and weaknesses as follows: Strengths:

• The presence of Georgian selective varieties – they differ from the existing varieties of all other producing countries and are distinguished by their gentle aroma.

• Soil – there is a particularly suitable soil for Georgian selective varieties, which allows the use of the maximum technological potential from the tea plant.

• Natural climate – during the winter, the tea bushes are covered with snow, which eliminates the use of pesticides and the products are practically environmentally friendly.

• The existence of many varieties of tea allows for the production of a wide range of ready-made teas.

• The ratio of phenolic and protein compounds present in Georgian selective varieties allows for the production of green tea of exceptional quality and distinctive taste, which has been confirmed by many years of experience.

• Location – Georgia is very close to European markets and is geographically in the center of the largest tea-consuming countries, where it is possible to connect with both land and sea transport, which significantly reduces costs.

• Centuries-old history of growing and processing tea culture.

• Easy availability of qualified workforce in the field.

• Very interesting to say, for fans of new products with a different history.

Weaknesses: • Seasonality – the tea picking season lasts only five months from May to September.

• Compared to tropical countries, plantations in Georgia are relatively low-yielding. The maximum yield per hectare is 6-8 tons of green leaves.

In the tea industry of Georgia, the worst that could happen has already happened, literally, a new era for quality tea production is beginning.

The main opportunities for the development of the tea industry in Georgia are based on the existence of a diverse tea sourcing base, non-use of pesticides, existing experience in the scientific and practical field, existing technologies and sourcing base. The current tax system is an important enabling factor for doing business in Georgia, including the tea industry. In particular, the supply of raw materials for the primary processing of tea is exempt from tax; Exports of tea are taxed at a zero rate; Profit and value-added taxes have been reduced to 15% and 18% respectively; Import of equipment is duty-free.

According to the study “Overview of the tea sector in Georgia” (2021) prepared by specialists of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Bank for Re-construction and Development (EBRD), the ongoing processes in tea production and the direction of the industry’s reorganization in a highly niche market are positively evaluated. We are talking about a high-quality product, especially green tea, and the establishment of a market for the production of Georgian tea with unique aromatic and taste properties and a balanced chemical composition.

All of the above and today’s growing and stable economic prosperity allow us to conclude: the Georgian tea industry is at the beginning of revival and will soon offer unique Georgian tea products to the world market.

Authors

Tamaz Mikadze Temur Revishvili Bakhva Dolidze

Academic Doctor of Technique Doctor of Technical Sciences, Academic Doctor of Technique

Tel: +995 599 529 529 Academician of the Academy of Tel: +995 555 734 100

E-mail: tmikadze@yahoo.com Agricultural Sciences of Georgia bakhvadolidze@gmail.com

Tel: +995 599 533 488

E-mail: temurrevishvili@gmail.com