Turkish tea - an exotic drink with a great aroma

Turkish tea has long been the national drink of the country's indigenous population. And this at a time when China and India are constantly arguing over who was the first to cultivate it. Wherever you are in Turkey, everywhere you will be offered a cup of tea as a sign of special attention and a demonstration of friendly intentions.

Tea production in Turkey began a long time ago, back in the times of the Turkish Republic. The center of production was the eastern regions on the Black Sea coast. A large proportion of tea plantations are concentrated near the local town of Rize and near the Turkish-Georgian border. It is not uncommon here to see tea plantations occupying an area of as much as 30 kilometers. And all this at an altitude of over 1,000 meters.

The first tea factory in Turkey was built in 1947 exactly in the city of Riz. And by 1965 tea production had grown so big that it was able to meet the demand for the drink within the country. From the first days, tea production was strictly controlled by the state, and only in 1984 the first private companies began to appear.

Basically, the famous Turkish tea is created within half a year, and the process begins in spring, in May. The climate in Turkey is wonderful and the tea grows very well here. Importantly, no chemicals of any kind are added to the composition. Then comes the processing stage. This involves several stages: tea leaf withering, twisting, fermentation, followed by drying and final sorting. Production takes place in a factory, which necessarily has a specialized certificate and uses modern technology.

And recently an apple tea from Turkey, called Elma Çayi, appeared on the market. This tea is especially interesting for tourists because it has nothing to do with the traditional notion of tea. Turkish apple tea does not contain caffeine, it is slightly sweet and has a slightly tart taste. And of course, the unique apple flavor. The most surprising thing is that there are no apples in the composition of this tea: only vitamin C, citric acid, various food essences and sugar.