1.5 oz. or 2 oz.
Made by one of Georgia's finest tea makers, Tornike's Wild Caucasus Black is a wild-grown black tea that comes from a Soviet-era tea estate in Imereti. The estate was abandoned more than 35 years ago and reclaimed in recent years by Tornike who now harvests tea from the bushes that have become a forest of tall trees.
The leaves for Tornike's Wild Caucasus Black are harvested once a year in the hills of Imereti. They're long and twisted in the Imeretian style, yielding an excellent light red infusion that's gently tannic.
Brewing instructions
Amount: 2 grams of loose tea per cup of water (a two-finger pinch)
Temperature: 212 ̊ (A full, rolling boil)
Steep time: 3 - 5 minutes (For bolder flavor, don't hesitate to give this one a bit of a longer steep than most black teas.)
About Our Georgian Tea
Early in the 20th century, the Soviet Union strove to produce all its tea domestically. Rather than import from China and India, they looked to the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. For decades, this Georgian tea was excellent, satisfying Russian demand for good tea. But as the Soviet economy faltered in the 1980s, quality suffered. Eventually, after the fall of communism in 1989, Georgia became independent and the tea fields were largely abandoned in favor of importation. Tea bushes turned into wild tea trees. Estates were sold off and forgotten.
But not by everyone. Even as Georgia was plunged into a series of secessionist conflicts and the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, Georgian tea makers kept the tradition going. Some maintained tea fields, while others have reclaimed wild tea forests more recently. We've made those connections and are now proud to offer the country's excellent tea.
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