Georgean tea

Oxidized tea
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Teafortea
Posts: 220
Joined: Sun May 15, 2022 2:29 am
Location: France

Sat Jun 03, 2023 11:34 am

Today I tried for the first time Georgean black tea. I had read an article on https://freshcup.com/georgian-tea-revival/, and it spiked my curiosity but never got to find a good direct source, till someone here mentioned Renegade tea. They had sold out all the new harvest ones but I was able to order the black teas pack.Box arrived in less then a week. I started with the Georgean Breakfast. Smell was very fruity honey dark cocoa. Wow, ok, I followed the instructionsfor the temperature only and brewed it gong fu style. Really impressed. Tasted just like it smelled, explosion of cocoa and summer fruits like peaches. Was able to get as many as 6 infusions, it remained a constant pleasant taste. I fell asleep after, totally different reaction from usual black teas 😅. I landed in Narnia I think... I guess i was just tired or the book I was reading or what tea did I have?
I have not tried any other black teas from the set as I've had too many teas today but I am glad I got to try this new région that was unknown to me completely.
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Zubik
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2022 6:55 pm
Location: Ukraine

Sat Jun 03, 2023 12:43 pm

My mother never drank Georgian tea in Soviet times. It was the tea to drink when there was nothing else to drink. She had the opportunity to buy Ceylon tea from speculators.
The quality of Georgian tea was due to a disregard for the process of cultivation and production. Pesticides, chemicals and a lack of understanding of the processing of raw materials were the norm.
I was in Georgia and the first thing that surprised me was the growing conditions: mountains, constant humidity and a warm climate. Only a Soviet planned economy could handle tea so ineptly.
What was, is gone.
I recently drank Georgian tea from a family I know. They gave me samplers by mail. So it can be safely put on the same shelf as Darjeeling in terms of taste. If you have ever had honey gingerbread, then this taste fully describes the black (red) tea that I tried.

It's worth a try, if only because the best pizza is not made in Italy :)
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Teafortea
Posts: 220
Joined: Sun May 15, 2022 2:29 am
Location: France

Sat Jun 03, 2023 1:36 pm

Very interesting, thank you for your input. As i said I don't know much of georgean teas, still learning. Are all teas grown with pesticides?
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Zubik
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2022 6:55 pm
Location: Ukraine

Sat Jun 03, 2023 4:08 pm

During the time of the union - yes, every plantation.
Now too, but not all, mostly mass producers, as in India.
Small businesses probably use it too, but that's just my guess.
Tea culture among Georgians is just emerging, despite the fact that they have been growing tea for a very long time. We are talking about a variety of teas, not just black and green. Therefore, in the future it will be possible to find 100% organic
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Thundercleese
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2023 2:20 pm

Fri Jun 09, 2023 4:19 pm

I got a sampler pack of their stuff earlier this year. Generally solid stuff, with a few outliers either way.

I loved the Georgian Breakfast, which has huge notes of baking chocolate and just enough tannin to keep things interesting. It'll be the first one I finish from them for sure.

The Imereti Sunset, their white, is also very pleasant. Lighter woody floral notes vaguely reminiscent of honey. I remember liking Miss Ohh Long, their Oolong-esque offering as well.

The Tulip Garden and Berry Blast impressed me the least, both being pretty weak in flavor.
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mbanu
Posts: 962
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 3:45 pm

Sat Jun 10, 2023 9:01 am

Our debt to the Georgian tea industry is that they went through the very unprofitable process of breeding cold-resistant tea. If it had not been part of a planned economy process, I'm not sure it could have happened, as from what I hear, they just kept planting tea bushes and taking seeds from the handful that survived the frost, again and again. To get enough viable seeds I imagine they had to plant pretty extensively. I don't know much about this, though, other than that the main person who is pointed towards is Xenia Ermolaevna Bakhtadze.

The downside I think is that it sounds like they focused on "make enough tea to meet the whole demand first, make it good second", not realizing how important good first impressions are.

I tried some Georgian tea recently -- it was nice, although part of it was the knack of that particular tea vendor for coaxing their black teas into winey flavors before they fade (it was a bit on the old side, as Georgian tea is not very popular). I haven't had any fresh Georgian tea, though, so I don't know how it compares.
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