About the collection

Adjara turned out to be a good place for subtropical agricultures. Chai(tea), tangerine orange,bamboo,tung tree and such plants originates from the East Asia .As a part of agriculture , these plants are of significant economic importance  in Georgia.

Chai(Tea)

The evergreen shrub native to China. While the plant enjoys warm climate with sufficient water supply , it can adapt to more colder climates. Chai leaves contains caffeine,vitamins,essential oils and other substances .The tradition of the tea drinking itself has been around since before the 4^th century in Chinese region, with the culture spreading into Japan and Korea by the 9^th century.

The Chai was first introduced to Georgia by Mikhail Eristavi , who planted the fisrt shrubs in estate garden of Mamia Gurieli in Ozurgeti. By the late 19^th century tea was growing more popular as there was some plantations in Chaqvi; Incidently , a there was a special invite made and accepted by an young Chinese man Lao Jin Jiao from a prominent Chinese household  , who at 23 visited Chaqvi and along with the tradition tea ceremony ,participated in the tea plantation management.

In 1927 tea plantations became one of the economic economic factor for the country.

A selection of specific Indian, Chenese,Japanese tea species , a new variety was in development. One of the leading enthusiast was an academic scholar Q.Bakhtadze , whose work on the tea selection made it possible to grow an entirely new variety of the chai plant “ Georgian 1” and “ Georgian 2” which have been recognized worldwide for its excellence.

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