Teatime in Tbilisi: Georgia’s Soviet-era plantations brew up a renaissance
A New Chapter for Georgia's Historic Tea Industry
Teatime in Tbilisi - As morning mist settles over the Caucasus range, workers in western Georgia begin their daily routine among rows of tea bushes. Pati, one of the local harvesters, moves with practiced ease through the foliage, selecting only the freshest green shoots. When she first started this work as a young woman, these fields belonged to a Soviet collective. After the USSR dissolved, the gardens fell into neglect, eventually becoming overgrown with wild vegetation. It wasn't until the 2010s that new cultivators began clearing the bushes and restoring production.
Today, those same leaves command premium prices internationally. Luxury tea merchants throughout Europe and North America have recognized what Soviet agricultural planners understood decades ago: Georgia's unique climate creates perfect conditions for tea cultivation. The combination of moist Black Sea breezes and chilly mountain winters produces leaves with exceptional character. Unlike the Soviet period, which prioritized quantity, modern Georgian growers emphasize quality above all else.
Climate Advantages and Growing Conditions
Georgia sits among the northernmost regions globally where tea thrives. Its subtropical coastline provides warmth while the surrounding mountains deliver cold winters that force the plants into approximately seven months of dormancy. This extended rest period increases polyphenol levels within the leaves, resulting in a naturally sweeter flavor profile. Additionally, harsh winter temperatures eliminate many common pests, making organic certification more achievable for local farmers.
European Union investment further accelerated the industry's recovery, with substantial funding directed toward economic revitalization. Although progress slowed when the pro-Kremlin Georgian Dream party suspended negotiations for EU membership, domestic producers continue expanding their reach. Tea cultivation likely arrived via the ancient Silk Road, though documented farming began in the early nineteenth century when a Georgian nobleman started planting bushes near present-day Ozurgeti.
Generations of Tea Heritage
"All big empires, they really want to have their own tea," explains Lika Megreladze, whose childhood memories span the Soviet era. "The Russian Empire really wanted to have their own tea. And every empire starts to grow tea and cultivate tea in different parts, like Portugal, the British in India, Sri Lanka, like the French in Indonesia or Vietnam."
During the Soviet period, the Guria region became the nation's primary production center, eventually elevating Georgia to fifth place worldwide in tea output by the 1980s. Megreladze recalls walking eight kilometers from her family home through dense forest to visit her mother at the Institute of Tea and Subtropical Cultures. She still preserves Soviet-era editions of Georgian Women magazine, which featured interviews with local tea pickers.
Visitors familiar with Soviet culture often smile when encountering Gruzinsky chai at Megreladze's home—affordable tea that may not have been celebrated for taste but remained accessible to ordinary citizens.
Modern Revival and Future Prospects
The contemporary resurgence traces back to Shota Bitadze, a Tbilisi engineer who imported Chinese herbs during a pharmaceutical shortage and subsequently explored tea cultivation. His son Giorgi Bitadze notes that while many families maintained tea bushes in their gardens, few possessed the knowledge to process the leaves properly.
In 2006, the Bitadze family established the Georgian Organic Tea Producers Association with sixteen other dedicated families and opened a museum in the capital. Government initiatives supporting plantation rehabilitation—covering seventy to ninety percent of expenses—helped expand active cultivation from eight hundred hectares in 2014 to nineteen hundred hectares by 2019.
International customers from Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, and other former Soviet states have embraced Georgian organic tea, though reaching Western markets remains challenging. Timothy Merkel, an American guide who operates the Georgian Tea Makers website, understands these obstacles firsthand. Meanwhile, Ana Dane of In Pursuit of Tea describes the experience of tasting Renegade Tea Estate's offerings: "They were just exquisitely-produced teas." She adds that the plants thrive in their native environment, producing "incredible" flavor that has attracted prestigious clients including Eleven Madison Park, the Michelin three-star restaurant in New York.