Skip to main content

Tea in Tbilisi


Coffee is a popular drink in the Caucasus, but tea should not be forgotten, because it has quite a following around the world.

Black and green tea is grown in West Georgia where the climate is subtropical – similar to the regions of China where the first seeds came from and where introduced into the country by Prince Eristavi in the 1830s. The Georgian cultivations have been entered in international exhibitions since its first showing at the Russian International Exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1864. At the 1899 Paris exhibition, it received a gold medal.

Georgia even has a Tea and Subtropical Cultures Research Institute in Anaseuli, West Georgia, where new varieties of the tea are grown. More information is available at http://www.elitist-tea.ge/

For non tea drinkers, there are many other uses for it. The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse (http://www.boulderteahouse.com/) lists some unusual uses for tea:

• A strong footbath of black tea will strengthen the pads of dogs’ feet

• To eliminate food odours on hands, especially fish odours, rinse hands with tea

• To soothe a vaccination jab, beestings, sunburn and insect bites, apply a cool wet green teabag to the site

• Clean oriental carpets by sprinkling nearly dry tea leaves on it and then sweeping them away

• To heal plantar warts, place a hot wet teabag on it for 15 minutes a day

• Cool teabags on the eyes will reduce swelling and redness

• Wash face with tea to cure acne

• Tea can be used to dye fabric, paper, or plastic to give an antiqued look

Other unusual uses include:

• To keep a patio deck clean, put black tea in a bucket of water and wash the deck

• Use teabags in the fridge to keep away odours

• Steep chamomile tea and place it in a facial steamer for great skin

• Use cooled strong tea and place in a spray bottle to clean mirrors.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Shindi: the Georgian Cornelian cherry

The Cornelian cherry – shindi in Georgian – is a fruit with medicinal and decorative properties. It was grown from ancient times, according to the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). It is also commonly called the European cornel. It is native to southern Europe from France to Ukraine as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The Cornelian cherry tree ( Cornus mas ) can be grown in orchards, but it is often seen in the forests of Georgia where it grows up to 1,350 metres above sea level. It is a medium to large deciduous tree, growing from 5-12 metres tall. The flowers are small with four yellow petals in clusters, which flower in February and March. The Cornus mas has three botanical varieties: (1) var. typica Sanadze with cylindrical red fruits, (2) var. pyriformis Sanadze with pear-shaped red fruits, and (3) var. flava vest with yellow fruits. The fruits are oblong red drupes about 2 centimetres ...
Post a Comment
Read more