A tea with a taste of history and terroir: hailing from the Renegade Tea Estate, in the country of Georgia, this organic farm was painstakingly started from the ruins of old tea fields in 2018, and is one of the northernmost regions of traditional production. The Georgian tea industry took hold at the end of the 19th century, growing rapidly over the next century, but collapsed with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Plantations were abandoned, and tea plants left to grow wild. In the early 2010s, a group of new farmers uncovered three promising fields in the western part of the country, resurrecting the old, seed-grown tea plants and experimenting with various styles while learning from established processing methods in Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

The result—after years of experimentation and innovation—is a black tea to savor. Note the long, twisted leaves, which initially offer a rich, dutched cocoa aroma in a warm teapot, unfurling to reveal layers of molasses, orange blossom honey and toasted almond when infused. Flavors of bittersweet chocolate and rosemary are matched by a sweet grain aftertaste and silky texture. Its medium-bodied, fruity-woody profile will appeal to fans of our Assam Kachibari and Mao Feng Black. 

Country: Georgia
Region: Imereti
Tasting Notes: molasses, dark chocolate, pine
Harvest Season: Spring 2024

2 oz

Click here to order a small sample size of this tea.

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  210º F

  3-4 grams, 3 minute steep

  ¼ full, 30 second-1 minute steep