When Mary and I traveled to Georgia last August, we visited the farm of one of our tea growers to see their operation first-hand. Unfortunately, the tea season for this farm was already over, so there would be no active picking, production or processing activities to see. Living in Wisconsin for the past 20+ years and having done a fair amount of research in the tea industry (not that any of that makes me an expert), I thought I had a reasonable idea of what a Georgian tea farm would look like (refer to the picture above).
Insert game show incorrect answer buzzer here. WRONG!
The Anditri Tea Estate is located in the city of Terjola in the Imereti District of western Georgia. Once we got off the highway at the Terjola exit, we passed what appeared to be a Georgian convenience store. Within a mile or two, the paved road ended and we found ourselves on a dirt road. We continued to drive for what seemed like an eternity but what was probably 30-40 minutes. There was absolutely nothing to see along the way, except brush and trees. I’m guessing we traveled 15-18 miles on this dirt road with a few wrong turns thrown in for good measure.
Wherever we were, we were DEEP in the Georgian countryside. Arriving at the Anditri Tea Estate, the first thing I noticed was the cows roaming freely along the footpaths through the trees and bushes of the property, which was very hilly. There was also what I would describe as more of a small pavilion, rather than a building. It had no walls, but had a roof and some equipment under it. When I asked our guide, George Bitadze, where the tea was, he replied, “Everywhere”, as he pointed to the bushes in front of us (pictured below).
We started walking along a footpath further into the “woods” and there was indeed tea everywhere. We walked, and walked, and walked. Everywhere you looked there were tea bushes. Some more aptly described as “tea trees” since they were 3-6 feet tall. This was not at all what I expected a tea farm to be. Mary described it perfectly when she called it a “Tea Forest”.
Check out this video to see for yourself.
George explained how the natural biodiversity of the forest with its variety of indigenous fauna that had reclaimed this former Soviet tea plantation, provided protection for the tea plants. Unlike plantation farming, harmful insects have many plants to choose from here, rather than only tea plants. Likewise, any disease infecting tea plants does not easily spread to the other tea plants. The non-tea plants providing “cover” for the tea plants, as it were. The tall acacia trees scattered throughout the forest form a natural, protective canopy. This shading also contributes to the unique flavor, as well as other characteristics of wild teas.
Harvesting of wild teas is limited to one month in the Spring (May) under strict guidelines as part of sustainability practices implemented by GOTPA (Georgian Organic Tea Producers Association). Not only is harvesting only done one month out of the year, but a wild tea plant may only be harvested one time per year. Whereas plantation teas are harvested multiple times throughout the six month tea growing season. It should be noted that less than 5% of the tea produced by GOTPA members is from wild tea plants. So, quantities of wild teas are limited and vary from year to year depending on weather conditions.
Chai House currently offers four varieties in our Wild Harvest Collection.
- Georgian Forest Black – Delicately astringent taste with a residual aroma of honey and spices.
- Georgian Forest Green – Silky, fresh vegetable taste, with sweet finish.
- Georgian Forest White – A floral taste with hints of almond and savory, followed by a sweet aromatic finish.
- Georgian Forest Blueberry Leaf – Rich and balanced sour-sweet notes of lemon, hibiscus, blueberry and citrus.
We expect to be adding some new wild varieties in 2022. Stay tuned.
Anditri Tea Estate specializes in the production of our Georgian Forest Black, for which they only harvest the bud and the first leaf (in some cases, the first two leaves). Our Georgian Forest White and Georgian Forest Green teas, and Georgian Forest Blueberry Leaf tisane (what’s a tisane? – click here) grow in the tea forest of the Bahkvi Tea Estate in the Guria District.
As the exclusive U.S. importers for GOTPA, we were confident our American customers would enjoy our Georgian Wild Harvest Collection, but we were pleasantly surprised at how quickly they have been so well received. In fact, we have already sold out our inventory of Georgian Forest White and Georgian Forest Blueberry Leaf.
Not to worry, May is just around the corner!
Gaumarjos! (To all, the victory!)