Project funded by

EUROPEAN UNION

ORGANIC TEA CULTIVATION IN GEORGIA

Report produced by PP4

International Centre for Social Research and Policy Analysis

Tbilisi, Georgia
2019

TEAWAY: Promoting Tea as the Engine of Growth for the Black Sea Ba-
sin Area/BSB-541

DISCLAIMER

The document has been produced with the assistance of the European
Union under Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin 2014-2020.
Its content is the sole responsibility of Authors and can in no way be
taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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C O N T E N T S:

INTRODUCTION

• Introduction………......................................................................................3

• Mapping the existing situation in tea production.........................................6

Tea cultivation in country.................................................................11

Tea processing..................................................................................12

Tea packaging and dissemination.....................................................14

• Organic cultivation existing situation.........................................................15

Selection of site ......................................................................

Conversion Period...................................................................

Livestock .............................................................................

Manual workers .....................................................................

Cultural practices.....................................................................

Trends .................................................................................

• International Market...................................................................................21

• Research and Innovation............................................................................23

• Recommendations .................................................................................…27

• Bibliography…………...............................................................................31

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Report 1.2: ORGANIC TEA CULTIVATION IN GEORGIA

The Case Study of Georgia Defining production at a national level

INTRODUCTION

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region. Situated at the juncture of

Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the
Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia,
and to the east by Azerbaijan. Georgia covers an area of 69,700 square
kilometers. Despite its small area, Georgia has one of the most varied
topographies of the former Soviet republics. Georgia's climate is
affected by subtropical influences from the west and continental
influences from the east. The Greater Caucasus range moderates local
climate by serving as a barrier against cold air from the north. Warm,

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moist air from the Black Sea moves easily into the coastal lowlands
from the west. Climatic zones are determined by distance from the
Black Sea and by altitude.

Georgia is traditionally an agricultural country, which has 22 microcli-

mates varying from cool and dry to warm and humid. These diversified
microclimates allow for a longer than normal harvesting season and a
wide range of growing conditions. Soils are of volcanic origin located in
the river valleys. They tend to be quite fertile and reasonably easy to
cultivate. Georgia is rich in agricultural tradition, which is an integral
part of its history, mentality and cultural heritage. Agriculture played
an important role in formation of the Georgian statehood and contrib-
uted much to its economic development.

Agriculture and agribusiness account for 9.2% of the GDP and 17.5% of

trade volume1. Agriculture still accounts for about 52% of the coun-
try’s labor force while 98% of farmworkers are considered self-

employed.2 (geostat)

Georgia is one of the world's northernmost tea producers. Tea is grown

in five regions of Western Georgia: Adjara, Guria, Samegrelo, Imereti
and Abkhazia. While Georgians have been drinking herbal concoctions
from time immemorial, tea as we know it is believed to have first
arrived in the early 19th century when Prince Mamia V Gurieli began
growing Camellia Sinensis in his botanical garden. But it was another
prince, Miha Eristavi, who smuggled seeds from China and established
the first tea plantation in 1847. His presumption that west Georgia’s
climate was ideal for the green and black plants were spot on. The
1950s were the golden age of Georgian tea, as the state weaned itself
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off imports and created more plantations, developed harvesting
machinery and high-yield hybrid varieties resilient to low
temperatures. By the mid-1980s, Georgia was the fourth largest tea
exporter in the world with 60,000 hectares bringing in a whopping
152,000 tons of tea. The tea harvest peaked in 1985 at 152,000 tons.
During this period, nearly 70,000 hectares of land were allocated to
tea cultivation. In many villages in western Georgia, tea cultivation
was a way of life. Nearly 180,000 people were involved in the various
production stages of the tea value chain. When the USSR collapsed,
Georgia’s tea industry went with it, as the state, bogged down in two
separatist conflicts, civil war and general economic chaos.

In the last century, Georgia occupied 5-6 place among world tea
producers. The total area of tea plantations was 66,0 thousand
hectares; 450-500 thousand tons of raw materials were produced
annually. The main customer of the product was the Soviet Union,
where 95 percent of the consumed tea was Georgian. Georgian tea was
exported to Europe and Asia as well. Tea culture has a great ecological
significance in the humid subtropical zone of Georgia. Tea plantations
protect the slopes from erosion and landslide phenomena, enrich the
soil and microclimate. Over the past 20-25 years, a large part of tea
plantations have been destroyed due to the severe political and
economic situation in the country, and the tea producer and exporter
country in the past has become an importer, which spends millions of
dollars to meet the demands of its own population. Against this
backdrop, the demand for local organic tea is gradually increasing. The
urgent task along with the rejuvenation of farmers and peasants’

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private tea plantations is the development of new plantations with
high-productive sequential varieties and clones.

1. Mapping the Existing Situation in Tea Production:

Currently Georgia produces many kinds of Tea among them, black,

green, white, flavored and herbal. The tea producing regions are:
Guria, Samegrelo, Adjara and Imereti. In Georgia, due to favorable
soil-climatic conditions, the tea plucking season lasts for 6 months.
According to experts in the field, high quality of raw materials and
competitive price is the main advantage of Georgian tea.

There are mostly Chinese tea species in Georgia, the duration of their
vegetation is 150-210 days, and frost resistance is -14-150C. Although,
under snow cover it can withstand -200C temperature. During the
vegetation period, the annual sum of perennial average sediments at
1200-1300 mm, the sum of precipitation is less than 600 mm. Soil
moisture intensity should vary between 80-85% of the marginal
tendency and 70-80% of air. Tea is more resistant to agro-climatic risks
compared to other cultures. (Frost, hail, drought, snow, etc.).

In Georgia, there are several large-scale factories harvesting tea leaves

from their own plantations, processing them, and making various tea
types. Most of these factories focus on low-quality tea production,
which accounts for 90-95 percent of their total production. This low-
quality tea is sold to ex-port markets. High and medium quality tea is
for high-quality domestic and foreign markets. There are companies,

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which specialize, in high-quality production of tea. For example, The
enterprize “Sakartvelos Taiguli”/ "Georgian Bouquet" is located in
Ozurgeti. The company has been producing high quality tea in Ozur-
geti district since 1997 and sells it at the local market and exports
mainly in Ukraine. The raw materials are mostly purchased from the
farmers. The investment of 428 thousand dollars was made in order to
build the new enterprize, the amount included the grant, private in-
vestment and financing through "cheap agro credit". Company produc-
es premium quality Georgian black and green Tea. Tea produced by
"Georgian Bouquet" is sold through the "Golden Bouquet" and "Georgian
Extra" brands. The "Golden Bouquet" will be presented by two types of
green and black tea, and the "Georgian Extra" brand will be sold in five
varieties packed tea.
”Anaseuli experimental tea factory” Ltd is one of the oldest tea
companies in the whole western Georgia. It has more then 50 years of
continuously producing high-quality black and green tea from the
plantations. The company annually produces 300 tons of tea products
and sells them in the countries of Eastern Europe. In addition to
traditional black and green tea is also produced an innovative product:
"Tea for diabetics". "Tkibuli Tea", produces 10 varieties of tea. Each
year more than 50 tons of "Tkibuli Tea" is exported to Russia, Ukraine
and Czech Republic. Georgian tea is gradually becoming popular,
because it is biologically pure: “Tkibuli Tea” is registered at
"Sakpatenti" as an ecologically clean tea maker. One of the significant
representatives of the Georgian tea producers is Bitadze LTD, which
started to implant new technologies in Georgia in order to improve
quality of tea and standardize it. The company focuses on producing

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highest quality, organic products. From 2010 Bitadze L.T.D started to
develop new Georgian tea cultivar called Georgian purple tea
(!"#$%&' ()*"(%&')
The aim of this project was the growth of a green tea with high
anthocyanin content, anti-fatigue properties and high content of
catchiness. Tea plants from all over Georgia with highest content of
pigment anthocyanin were selected and saplings were created from
selective method. Georgian purple tea is unique because of its taste,
usually purple teas from other countries have bitter taste (especially
Chinese purple tea), Georgian purple tea has very unique light
bittersweet taste with pleasant and rich aroma. Company produces
number of variety of tea under the brand “Georgian Tea 1847”. There
are more and more companies producing organic Georgian tea, one of
them is also company “Manna”. MANNA is focused on producing of
ecologically pure and organic products that do not contain harmful
substances and supplements. During the production process the ISO
22000 and HACPP standards are followed. The company has also
obtained the certificate of internationally recognized company
“Caucascert” for production of bio-products. Company produces
organic black and green teas with flavors.

There are also herbal Teas produced in Georgia. The outstanding

producer of Georgian herbal Tea is company «Farconi» , which
produces 100% natural products from medicinal wild-growing herbs,
which contain no additives, flavor enhancers and impurities. «Farconi»
is the only company in Georgia, which manufactures products certified
by international quality standards. The company in its activity strictly
follows the requirements of national and international legislation, as

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well as the European Pharmacopoeia. The assortment of trademark
«Farconi» consists of medicinal herbs and wild berries. All products are
100% natural, contain no additives, flavor enhancers and impurities and
are made from wild-growing medicinal herbs and wild berries.

The outstanding and unique variety of Georgian Tea is “Wine Tea”. The
idea to produce wine tea belongs to a pharmacologist named Irakli
Natroshvili, who was making a research on the beneficial
characteristics of red wine (Saperavi) 25 years ago. He has discovered
that after processing the wine, it has exactly the same beneficial
qualities as before. “The uniqueness of tea is that there are no
analogues in the world market. The tea contains all the useful
substances of wine, and at the same time protects the consumer from
the harmful influence of alcohol. It can be consumed by young
children, the elderly, all those who are not drink alcohol for various
reason,” says startup founder Giorgi Bukia.

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a. Tea Cultivation in a Country

According to the statistical data, currently Georgia has tea plantations

in 19200 ha. The tea leaves from 2500 hectares can be reconstructed
at 7200 ha, and the new plantations can be grown at 9500 hectares.

In the 30-90s of the last century Georgian scientists have been selected
by high quality products of Tea (academician Ksenia Bakhtadze),
breeds and clones. The "Kolkhida" variety is of particular interest. The
tea plant "Kolkhida" has been cultivated with the development of
vegetable seedlings, progressive technology of plantations and
exploitation, which did not have a world analogy. The potential yield
of "Kolkhida" variety is 13-15 tons of high quality raw materials, and
the products produced by it are quality standards of the world's best
tea standards. Nowadays tea selective breeds and clones production
plantations are found only in Anneuli (Ozurgeti) and Chakvi (Adjara).
These varieties require urgent rehabilitation and reproduction. For the
first stage, small nurseries are needed for the production of seed and
salmon, which will enable the creation of these varieties of Georgian
selective teas and clones and the creation of genomes.

Tea leaves are reaped from tea shrubs in plantations. As per the
National Statistics Office of Georgia, 60% of tea estates are possessed
and worked by households (2014). According to the Agricultural
Projects’ Management Agency there is still no exact information about
the quantity of households owning plantations or about the quantity
owned by government. The date is expected to be more accurate after
the finalization of the “The “Project of registration of farms/ farmers”
regulates a system of the united registry of farmers/farms which will

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consolidate information on the entities employed in the agricultural
activities, their agricultural-economic activities and agricultural assets
existing in their ownership/maintenance in the united electronic
database. The Project is initiated by the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and Agricultura of Georgia and is being implemented by the
Agricultural Projects Management Agency.

The greater part of the plantations in Georgia is not fenced (and hence
tea hedges risk being crushed by animals) and much of the time are
congested. These outcomes in low efficiency. Development, upkeep
(e.g., pruning) and reaping are finished by hand. Albeit some enormous
homesteads still have out of date Soviet apparatus in their ownership,
the nature of machine-reaped tea is incredibly low. As far as quality,
tea reaped in such a way is 6 leaves and a bud (6L&B) or more, which
must be utilized in low-quality tea creation. The cutting edge industry
standard for quality tea, or alleged orange pekoe (Operation), contains
a couple of leaves and a bud (1L&B and 2L&B), and for volume tea, or
supposed BOP (broken orange pekoe), includes three leaves and a bud
(3L&B) or more. For 1 kilogram of handled tea (alleged "made tea"), 4
to 4.5 kilograms of crude tea leaves are fundamental (the tea change
proportion fluctuates between 4 to 4.5 kilograms (green leaf to usable
tea).

b. Tea Processing

The most family units owning tea plantations have under 1 hectare of
land for cultivation, it doesn't bode well for every one of them to pro-
cess their collected tea leaves. This job is taken on by manufacturing
plants (be they little, medium or enormous) that gather crude tea

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leaves from tea cultivators for preparing. The accumulation happens
through truck, and sometimes old Soviet period vehicles are utilized.
Tea leaf handling normally happens utilizing old Soviet-time machines,
which must be marginally remodeled locally. These machines were
created with an attention on keeping up a high volume of generation
and not on keeping up or improving the nature of handled tea leaves.
Present day benchmarks require a lot higher-quality apparatus and re-
designed structures for handling, bundling and capacity. There are two
primary techniques for preparing tea. The first is the standard, or uni-
versal, technique (to be talked about underneath), and the second is
the CTC (cut-tear-twist) strategy. Numerous individuals erroneously
feel that dark and green tea are created from two various types of tea
shrubberies. Actually, all assortments of tea are created from a similar
tea bramble (Camellia Sinensis). What gives teas their unmistakable
qualities is how the leaves are prepared. Handling dark tea includes
culling, shriveling, rolling, oxidizing and drying tea leaves. The best
two leaves are picked with their buds amid the season, for the most
part by hand. The wilting stage includes diminishing the mugginess in
leaves and taking into consideration enzymatic oxidation. From that
point forward, the tea leaves are rolled and curved, which discharges
normal juices from the cells of the leaves. This procedure can be em-
braced utilizing uncommon apparatus just as being finished by hand,
however it is tedious. After the moving stage, dark teas require further
oxidation and this by and large happens in a dim live with a controlled
atmosphere. Amid the procedure of aging, tea obtains a great deal of
taste and fragrant mixes. The last advance in the essential creation of
dark tea is drying the leaves. When an ideal dimension of oxidation is

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accomplished, the tea is warmed so as to anticipate further corrup-
tion. The last advancement of flavor occurs amid the drying stage,
which must be executed in all respects cautiously and requires gifted
work. As of now referenced, green and dark tea are delivered from a
similar hedge. What makes green tea diverse is that it is steamed be-
fore moving to completely devastate the action of chemicals and coun-
teract enzymatic oxidation. Different strides of creation are compara-
tive in the two cases (albeit green tea does not require the maturation
step). Georgia has a bit of leeway in creating green tea as it isn't im-
portant to depend on the shadowing of tea hedges a practice predomi-
nant all through Asia because of the raised dimensions of bright radia-
tion in the region.

C. Tea Packaging and Dissemination

The packaging of tea is done both by hand and employing packaging

lines in small- and medium-size companies, whereas large companies
employ exclusively packaging lines . There are four types of tea pro-
duced in Georgia: (1) loose tea in bulk, (2) loose tea in small boxes
(packaged), (3) tea bricks (Agura tea) and (4) tea bags. Only black and
green tea categories are produced in Georgia. Dissoluble tea ex-
tracts/concentrates are also produced (by one company in Tsalen-
jikha). There are more and more companies that actively pursues
branding and are trying to have well defined marketing strategy. Also
small-scale processors engage in branding through elaborate packaging
and designs of tea boxes, al- though they have limited access to adver-
tising and therefore fall short of informing consumers about their

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brands. Georgian tea is sold both locally and internationally. Quite a
substantial part of locally produced tea is exported. This is mainly low-
quality tea (loose tea in bulk and tea bricks). However, tea imports ex-
ceed exports by a substantial margin. The domestic market is dominat-
ed by imported tea.

2. Organic Cultivation Existing Situation

As with other organic farm products, organic tea is produced using en-
vironmentally-friendly methods of cultivation. Instead of relying on
hazardous chemicals that damage the environment and can remain be-
hind on the finished product, organic tea farmers use traditional, natu-
ral methods of pest and weed control. The result is an organic tea es-
tate that works with the surrounding ecosystem to produce healthy,
vibrant crops and strong, flavorful teas. And, of course, organic
teas aren't just good for the environment—they’re also good for anyone
who wants to enjoy the health benefits of a cup of tea while keeping
chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides out of their cup.

Since 2007, Georgia started developing / restoring organic tea

plantations. Equipping Georgian growers with modern equipment and
providing them with new technologies. The first batch of high quality
tea, manufactured in Georgia, was successfully exported to Ukraine in
2010.

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Today there are more and more companies oriented on producing
highest quality, organic only products. “GEORGIAN ORGANIC TEA PRO-
DUCERS ASSOCIATION” was established by Bitadze LTD, pioneer in in-
novations existing in Georgian tea. Purpose of this association is to
unite all organic tea producing companies or families to help them co-
operate together, creating new kinds of tea products, share each oth-
ers experience, gives guidance to produce high quality tea and etc.
The association is the member of IFOAM FiBL-'+ (IFOAM – International
Federation Of Organic Agriculture movements, FiBL – Research insti-
tute of Organic agriculture) . "Organic Tea Producers Association of
Georgia" has successful achievements in terms of creation of Georgian
tea varieties. Georgian tea standardization, restoration and rebuilding
of new plantations.

Georgian tea breeds Increases the recognition of Georgian tea and rais-
ing the reputation in the world through participating in international
Tea forums and championships, has opened a private tea museum and
school. Since 2006, "Organic Tea Producers Association of Georgia" has
been working on the tea plant taking care of the desired varieties. Af-
ter searching throughout the territory of Georgia, one plant was se-
lected, the most common of which was the presence of antioxidant
color (leaf color), ie pigment antioxidant (red, purple, violet). Precise
trained pens have been taken. We now have a mother plant and frac-
tured pens taken from the spring of 2018 in the open ground and we
will have a mother plantation, which is the "Georgian purple tea" in-
dustrial purpose, mono plantations or wild gardens. The concept of the
tea wild gardens and the type of its arrangement, is developed by the
Association. The Association is implementing the processing of organic
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fertilizer technology on the base of tea, which will allow us to com-
pletely eliminate the use of mineral and other fertilizers, along with
arrangement of tea wild gardens.

The organic tea producers in Georgia are relying on old farming

methods and agricultural practices that create quality leaves without
the application of noxious chemicals. Organic tea processing is also
done by traditional methods using the tea leaves from the organic tea
estate. Every leaf is picked by hand, and the leaves that will be used
to produce the organic tea are dried under the sun to craft a
distinctive taste and flavor. Companies are producing organic tea
species certified in accordance with, “GREEN CAUCASUS "- bio
standards,

Organic Tea Assortment of Organic Tea Producers Association of Geor-

gia under the brand name “” Georgian Tea 1847”:

Georgian Black Tea with Thyme and Ziziphora; Georgian Black Tea with
Rose; Georgian Black Tea with Bergamot; Blueberry Leaf Tea; Georgian
Wild Quince leaf tea; Georgian Green Tea; Georgian Wild White Tea;

Georgian Black Tea N1; Georgian Black Full Leaf Tea; Georgian Black
Fraction Tea; Georgian Wild Black Tea;

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Premium Quality Organic Tea

The uniquely flavoured MANNA Georgian black tea is characterized by

its strong toning effect. You can consume the tea at any time during
the day as it is good for your health and creates a pleasant mood.

Company prepares the premium quality black tea with tender tea
shoots plucked from ecologically clean plantations in the eastern
mountainous regions of West Georgia. The daytime-to-night time

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changes in temperature and the merging of the mountain and sea
climates give the tea leaves a peculiar aroma and taste

The Health Benefits of Black Tea

Black tea is characterized by its strong toning effect and health

benefits. The “Manna” black tea contains antioxidants, aromatic
substances, tannins, caffeine, and vitamins P and C. It has a positive
impact on health, especially on cardiovascular, circulatory, and
nervous systems.

Premium Quality Organic Tea

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The uniquely flavoured MANNA Georgian green tea creates a pleasant
mood. The tea has a positive effect on your health and can help
to promote weight loss without any side effects

Consistency: green tea

We prepare the premium quality green tea with tender tea shoots
plucked from ecologically clean plantations in the eastern mountainous
regions of Georgia. The daytime-to-night time changes in temperature,
characteristic of the region of West Georgia, and the merging of the
mountain and sea climates give the tealeaves a peculiar aroma and
taste

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Manna Green Tea delivers both enjoyment and health benefits through
a variety of naturally occurring and biologically active substances.
While the presence of catechol promotes weight loss, there are
antioxidants, aromatics, tannins, caffeine, bioflavonoid and vitamin C
which are equally beneficial and support good health

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3. International Market

The demand of organic and value added tea is increasing around

the world, which opens a new avenue for Georgian producers.
European Union and US, are the potential markets for Georgia. “In
selecting a tea brand from export markets, retailers are choosing a
country where they get organic and premium quality tea. Georgia is
a member of the WTO. It also has some preferential trade relationships

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with the EU (DCFTA), CIS countries and Turkey. Georgia has General
Schemes of Preference (GSP) with the US, Norway, Switzerland,
Canada, and Japan. Additionally, country has a free trade agreement

with European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland,

Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) are. Chinese investments are
part of the "Beijing Silk Road", which already includes real estate and
railway sectors. Tea trade became part of the free trade agreement of
2017. China agrees to help the tea industry in Georgia and increase its
production boom. According to the new agreement, Chinese company
does not pay taxes when importing tea from Georgia to China. Despite
these developments, there are some worries from producers that
bilateral free trade agreements may lead to more competition.
Infrastructure for sea, ground, and air transportation is generally quite
developed in Georgia, so in theory there should be few logistical
barriers to exporting Georgian tea.

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4 . Research and Innovation

There is still a tea research institute in Anaseuli, which is openly ap-

proached by the tea stakeholders. Today institute is functioning under
private Agrarian University. Institute has been functioning since 1930.
Its multi profile researches have been the base of producing high and
stable harvest of tea, citrus and subtropical fruit culture in the most
southern subtropics and developing recycling industry

Main directions of research

• Development of frost resistant, immune, high productive forms and

breeds of subtropical fruits and their seedlings (citruses, kiwi, pei-
hoa, subtropical persimmon); elaboration of their nursing technolo-
gies.
• Development of high quality and high productive Georgian selective
varieties of tea. Their biochemical and technological research to
receive other kinds of products.
• Elaborating the intervention methods related to integrative re-
sistance of subtropical crops against harmful organisms through
maintaining ecologically pure biocenosis; phytosanitary research of
the subtropical zone to identify existing biodiversity.

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• Developing intensive technologies of breeding, laying out and nurs-
ing for tea, citruses and other subtropical crops.
• Perfection of fertilization system of subtropical crops through con-
sidering soil fertility, biological characteristics of plants and envi-
ronmental issues. Study influence of involvement of fertilizer nitro-
gen in soil nitrogen mineral and organ mass.

• Using local plant, tea and citrus raw material to research and de-
velop technological parameters and technical capacities for pro-
ducing high quality food and dietary-preventive products, having
biological activity.

Despite some achievements, there is still urgent need in strong tea re-
search organisation/institute oriented on transfer modern knowledge,
technologies and innovations. It could be much efficient if such organ-
isation would be functioning under ministry of agriculture and would
be financed by the state. The institutes’ major mission should be im-
proving the productivity and profitability of the whole tea industry,
collaborating with all stakeholders. All stakeholders should be in-
volved in defining its research priorities and in ensuring that the re-
search programs are demand driven and client oriented. Very produc-
tive would be engaging European Union Delegation representative in
the board. Research programs could consist of: crop improvement,
crop water management, soil fertility management and technology
transfer. Research on water and fertilizer use, and clonal evaluation
should be conducted in laboratories and field trials. A state-of-the-art
soil and plant analytical laboratory should be functioning and may

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provide analytical services on a commercial basis. Institutes research
should be geared towards solving practical problems facing growers.
Developing institute in this way will greatly contribute to the devel-
opment and promotion of technologies that lead to increases in the
productivity and profitability of tea particularly from smallholders and
hence to improve the livelihood of rural people especially women.

Georgian Purple tea

From 2010 Bitadze L.T.D started to develop new Georgian tea cultivar
called Georgian purple tea.
The aim of this project was the growth of a green tea with high antho-
cyanin content, anti-fatigue properties and high content of catechins.
tea plants from all over Georgia with highest content of pigment an-
thocyanin were selected and saplings were created from selective
method.
Anthocyanin’s are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on
their pH, may appear red, purple, or blue.
Food plants rich in anthocyanin’s include the blueberry, raspberry,
black rice, and black soybean, among many others that are red, blue,
purple, or black. Some of the colors of autumn leaves are derived
from anthocyanin’s.
In tea we can see anthocyanin rich leaves by their red color, instead of
green chlorophyll tea has red/bluish color (especially presented in
young leaves since anthocyanin works as defensive pigment, protecting
young leaves from stress)

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Anthocyanin rich green tea has many benefits, as its contains every
healthy component of green tea with anthocyanins same component
that is found in red wine.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ANTHOCYANIN RICH GREEN TEA

1. Is a strong antioxidant – binding free radicals and protects against

oxidative stress.
2. Improves vision, reduces the visual stress of eyes when working at
the computer screen or overuse of the eyes (asthenopia)
3. Protects blood vessels, preventive and beneficial against cardiovas-

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cular diseases.
4. Protection against cancers, as antioxidant, anti carcinogenic, induc-
tion of apoptosis in tumor cells, ant mutagenic, anti-proliferative.
5. anti-diabetic, protective effect against obesity, improves metabo-
lism disorders and more…
You can find purple teas in China, Japan and Kenya, although they are
very rare, limited and expensive.
Georgian purple tea is unique because of its taste, usually purple teas
from other countries have bitter taste (especially Chinese purple tea),
Georgian purple tea has very unique light bittersweet taste with pleas-
ant and rich aroma.

5. Recommendations

For some reason, tea is not regarded as a part of Georgian culture. But
on the other hand just recently we have celebrated 170th anniversary
of Georgian tea. Georgia is the northernmost country in industrial pro-
duction of tea, which is a high quality guarantee. Georgian tea devel-
opment has a great potential. There are all conditions: good soil, wa-
ter, climate, etc. Georgian tea has a chance to establish a distinctive
place among the world's most famous teas’.

Georgia is the northernmost tea industry with the potential to produce

high quality tea. Georgia has an isolated and original ecosystem. Tea

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production Western Georgian territory is bounded by mountain systems
and from the west by the Black Sea. The rivers running from the moun-
tains, enrich soil with in minerals.

The pool of the rivers of Western Georgia is on the entire length of

Georgia, which enables ecological management. Moreover, the pres-
ence of glaciers, coverage of the tea plantations with the snow and
their natural supply with fresh water, does not require protection
against diseases and chemical protection. Tea plantations do not re-
quire irrigation. All of the mentioned above is a solid foundation for
organic tea production on the whole territory of Western Georgia,
without exception.
"Georgia has a potential for bio-tea production. This is the
northernmost tea production point. Hence, the risk of disease from
insects is inseparable, so the use of pesticides may be minimal or not
at all. Therefore, organic tea production acquires a certain potential.
Countries like Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Baltic
countries; these are the trends in Europe where we should think about
exporting a Georgian tea brand. " The best model for the development
of Georgian tea is the transition to bio production: "There should be a
legislative basis in Georgia to prohibit the use of poisonous chemicals
or nonorganic products in the tea industry. Bio Tea is deficient in the
world and if we produce it, it will be quite competitive. We can
compete even with Chinese high quality tea. "

The Government of Georgian along with the Georgian Tea Association

would have to take steps in order to boost the competitiveness and
quality of Georgian tea worldwide. The industry needs to be competi-

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tive in production, marketing, logistics and product forms. Georgia
lacks properly organized production systems in which small tea pro-
ducers find a respectable place. The industry must have access to capi-
tal at globally competitive rates. The first step in that direction is a
complete restructuring of the tea industry, redefining the roles of var-
ious agencies and developing a healthy partnership with the labour.

Investments in plantations and manufacturing machines must come

from the industry with the subsidy from the Government. Also rent
and tax exemptions can be used as indirect subsidies.

Rehabilitation of old soviet time tea plantations is urgent. The process

will be successful only in the case if the state owned plantations will
be transferred to private companies, farmers, cooperatives, etc.
without any charge, but with the responsibility to re-cultivate existing
plantations.

Finding the ways to satisfy the demand for raw material by large and
medium factories, which could be reached by the stronger partnerships
between small farmers and factories.

The reforms in lending policies of the banks are urgent. The tea plan-
tation sector needs huge infusion of capital.

The Government will have to hold the hands of the small-scale tea
producers until they can be organized on efficient lines.

Government and private companies have to promote Georgian tea

worldwide, including bringing Georgian tea producers to international
exhibitions and tea-related events.

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Totally excluding mixing imported law quality raw material with local
product and selling it under the brand of Georgian Tea.

The Knowledge gap of farmers and lack of tea industry specialists is ev-
ident in the country. In order to successfully develop the industry the
new generation of specialists should be raised, as well as equipping the
old generation with the modern trends and knowledge. The goal can be
achieved through inviting the specialists from reach tea culture and
successful industry countries like China to teach and share the experi-
ence with local tea industry representatives.

World tea production currently relies on low cost labour; in Georgia,

advanced technologies will have to be deployed to address such issue.
We consider that robotics and photonics technologies are enablers to
perform automated plucking and processing of tea leaves.

The deployment of best practices for environment friendly cultivation,

harvest and processing;

The development of innovating technologies for cultivation, harvest

and processing;

The development of environment friendly tourism on the sites where

tea is cultivated;

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6. Bibliography

Doborjginidze, S. (2008). The Ways of Development of Tea Production

Sector in Georgia. Tbilisi State University (Doctoral dissertation);

Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia (www.moa.gov.ge)

National Statistics Office of Georgia (www.geostat.ge)

Agricultural Projects’ Management Agency

http://apma.ge/projects/read/farms-farmers_registration_project/

The Georgian Tea Sector: A Value Chain Study - ENPARD - European

Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development De-
cember 2015, Tbilisi, Georgia

http://tiflisnews.ge/!"#$%&'-,"'+--)&%#'-.'/)/

https://chai-khana.org/ka/ras-nishnavs-chineti-patara-qalaqis-chais-

plantatsiebistvis

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