The pioneer in the field of tea cultivation in Georgia was Lau Jan Jau, a Chinese who was invited by a Russian merchant to develop the tea business. His efforts were not in vain, despite the fact that in the Soviet Union tea was called “the dust of the Georgian roads” due to its low quality. To understand the reason for this attitude towards the drink, one should plunge into a history full of interesting events.
Tea growing spread over the territory of Georgia and Azerbaijan in the period from the 20s to the 30s of the last century. By the end of the existence of the USSR, tea production began in the Krasnodar Territory. As for Lau Jan Jau, he left the Union in 1926, and there were reasons for that. The fact is that in a great state they decided to mechanize the collection of tea. Naturally, the "tea harvester" for the Chinese became a real horror. The fact is that for a good drink, only the top leaves, the youngest and most tender, should be collected from the bush.
1. What influenced the quality of the final product
In 1928-1930. Trust "Tea-Georgia" began to work on the creation of a special machine. But tea-harvesting combines called "Sakartvelo", created at the "Gruzselmash" plant in Tbilisi, appeared for the first time on the plantations. The car moved along the row of tea bushes at a speed of 1 km / h. At the same time, only tender twigs were collected from the bushes. One machine did the work of 25-30 people. However, she needed special service. The harvester had to be individually adjusted for each lane.
The mechanized collection had its negative impact on the quality of the tea, but this was not a critical point. In addition, all existing rules were violated, including harvesting in the rain. By the end of the 70s of the last century, 95,000 tons of tea were grown in Georgia annually. At the same time, 65 tea factories were operating. From them, briquettes were already distributed throughout the Soviet Union to factories.
By the way, about 50% of the harvest was culled, and the chairmen of the collective farms, as soon as there was at least some opportunity, were happy to remove the tea bushes and plant citrus trees instead. In this regard, during the Perestroika period in Georgia, tea production decreased by half, and when the USSR collapsed, it practically disappeared altogether. As a result, only three tea factories remained in Adjara.
2. Manufacturing process
Withering is the 1st stage of processing. It is necessary to remove moisture from the leaves. Usually on special vehicles it takes 2-8 hours. Next comes non-linear work with tea leaves. It all depends on the harvest and on what they expect to get in the end.
Autumn tea is steamed for five to ten minutes. The temperature is close to boiling, which stops fermentation. After that, the raw materials are pressed and the resulting "bricks" are left to dry for two to three weeks.
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3. Modern realities
Modern Georgian tea is significantly different from what was offered to Soviet citizens. Perhaps its quality is not the highest, but the language will not turn out to be low. In fact, Georgian tea is no worse than its counterparts promoted by experienced marketers.
Continuing the topic, read what exist 11 ways to reuse your tea bag.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/251220/57229/
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