Guria: Revival of Tea Plantations

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the once powerful tea industry of Georgia went into a sharp decline. Around 75,000 ha of land was sown under the tea plantations, and the harvest was half a million tons of tea leaves. There was a time when Georgians consumed around 3500 tons of tea, but today, this number has decreased to 1500 tons. For the last few years, several small family businesses started their struggle for the revival effort. A passionate tea lover and entrepreneur, Shota Bitsadze, guided Lala Aliyeva through the history of Georgian tea and family plantations in Guria.