Georgian Tea Festival in Tbilisi in Georgia: dates, meaning and how to experience it

By Mariam Lomidze, GTour desk · Fact-checked against the sources listed · Last checked 25 October 2026 · Editorial policy

What it is

The Georgian Tea Festival (Georgian: ჩაის ფესტივალი, chais festivali) is an annual public tasting and trade event organised by the Georgian Tea Producers Association in Tbilisi. The Georgian word chai is not a native coinage but part of a wide Eurasian borrowing — the same root travelled from Chinese through Persian and Russian into Georgian, Turkish, Hindi and many other languages, a linguistic reminder that tea itself reached the Caucasus from much further east. Unlike the saints’ days and agricultural feasts that make up most of the Georgian festive calendar, this is a recent, secular gathering built around a 19th- and 20th-century industry rather than an ancient rite.

The festival is for growers and processors from Georgia’s historic tea districts — chiefly Guria, Adjara and Imereti — who bring leaf, liquor and equipment to a single hillside park for one autumn day. It is also, increasingly, for the ordinary Tbilisi public and for visitors curious about a side of Georgian agriculture that is far less internationally known than the country’s wine. Anyone may attend: there is no religious observance attached, no fasting rule, and no requirement beyond an interest in tasting cup after cup of orthodox-processed black, green and white Georgian tea.

Historical background

• 1880s–1890s — The first experimental and then commercial tea gardens were planted in western Georgia, chiefly around Ozurgeti in Guria, as the Russian Empire sought a domestic source of tea to reduce dependence on Chinese and Indian imports.
• 1893 — According to accounts of the period, the Chinese tea specialist known in Georgian sources as Lau Jin Jau was invited to the Chakva estate near Batumi to advise on cultivation and processing technique, a formative episode in the development of the Adjara tea industry.
• 1920s–1930s — Soviet agricultural planning expanded plantations and built processing factories across Guria, Adjara and Imereti, drawing on the earlier Chakva and Ozurgeti experience.
• 1950s–1980s — Georgia became the principal tea-growing republic of the Soviet Union, with factories operating in numerous towns across the west of the country and output shipped across the USSR.
• 1991 — Independence and the loss of the unified Soviet market led, through the 1990s, to the abandonment of many gardens and the closure or dismantling of processing plants.
• 2010s — Government support programmes and private investors began replanting overgrown gardens in Guria and Adjara, this time oriented toward specialty, hand-processed and organic tea rather than bulk Soviet-style output.
• Later 2010s — Smaller producers formed the Georgian Tea Producers Association to share processing knowledge, agree quality standards and present a united public face for the revived sector.
• 12 October 2024 — The Association’s festival at Mtatsminda Park offered tastings of Guria, Adjara and Imereti teas to the Tbilisi public, one of the most recently confirmed editions of the event.

The arc of this history — introduction under empire, expansion under Soviet planning, collapse at independence, slow replanting in recent years — explains why the festival feels less like an ancient feast and more like a public report on an industry rebuilding itself. Georgia’s tea gardens sit near the northern climatic limit of commercial tea cultivation worldwide, a fact that shaped both the Soviet-era push to prove the crop viable at scale and the present-day argument that small, carefully processed Georgian lots can compete on quality rather than volume, a sector overview supported by Georgia’s national tourism and economic agencies.

The festival itself has no fixed founding date comparable to a church feast; it grew out of smaller producer meetings and tastings as the replanting effort gathered pace, consolidating into the single mid-October Tbilisi gathering now associated with Mtatsminda Park. Because it depends on harvest timing, venue booking and the Association’s own capacity each year, it remains, by design, a moveable date confirmed only weeks in advance — a practical arrangement rather than a calendrical rule.

Meaning and traditions

At its core the festival is a tasting fair. Producers set up stalls grouped loosely by region — Guria, Adjara, Imereti — pouring shavi chai (black tea), mtsvane chai (green tea) and smaller quantities of more delicate tetri chai (white tea, made from unoxidised young leaf buds). Visitors move stall to stall with a small cup, comparing liquor colour, aroma and body the way one might taste wine at a harvest fair. Many producers demonstrate hand-rolling and withering technique, explain the difference between orthodox (loose-leaf, hand- or lightly machine-processed) and the old Soviet CTC (crush-tear-curl) bulk method, and talk through harvest months and altitude.

Food is informal rather than ceremonial: honey, churchkhela, dried fruit, pastries and sometimes light Georgian snacks are sold alongside the tea stalls, chosen as pairings rather than following any fixed ritual menu. There are no set songs or liturgical texts attached to the day, since it is not a religious or state holiday but a trade-and-tasting event; conversation with growers, rather than performance, is the main social activity. Regional identity matters more than ritual here: Guria is associated with the oldest continuously worked gardens, Adjara with the historic Chakva plantations and coastal humidity, and Imereti with newer, smaller-scale green-tea projects started during the recent revival.

When it happens

The festival is not fixed to a specific civil date. It is held once a year, in mid-October, at a point the Georgian Tea Producers Association judges to suit both the end of the autumn harvest and the availability of Mtatsminda Park. The 2024 edition took place on 12 October 2024; by late October of any given year the current year’s festival has usually already been held. A date of 16 October 2027 has been provisionally mentioned for the next edition, but, as with each year’s event, it is subject to confirmation by the organisers closer to the time, typically announced through local press coverage.

The festival is not a public holiday. Government offices, schools, banks and most businesses in Tbilisi operate on a normal schedule on the day; only the park itself and its immediate surroundings take on a festival character for the afternoon. Visitors planning a trip around the date should check announcements from the organisers or Tbilisi-based news outlets in the weeks beforehand, since the exact day can shift by a week or more between years.

Where to experience it

Mtatsminda Park sits at the top of Mtatsminda Mountain overlooking Tbilisi, reached most atmospherically by the historic Mtatsminda Funicular from its lower station near Chonkadze Street, or by road. On the festival day, stalls are typically arranged along the park’s main terraces, with producers pouring tastings from early afternoon into early evening; the hilltop setting adds sweeping views over the old city as a backdrop to the tasting. There is no religious etiquette to observe, since the event is entirely secular, but ordinary courtesy applies: ask before photographing a producer’s stall closely, accept small tastings gracefully, and expect to pay a modest price if you wish to buy packaged tea to take home.

Because the park also houses an amusement area and panoramic viewpoints, many visitors combine the tea stalls with a wider afternoon on Mtatsminda, making it a comfortable half-day outing rather than a narrowly focused event.

Did you know

• The Georgian word for tea, chai, shares its root with words for tea across Russian, Persian, Turkish and Hindi, tracing ultimately back to Chinese.
• Chakva, near Batumi, hosted one of the earliest organised Georgian tea plantations, developed with advice from an invited Chinese tea specialist in the 1890s.
• Georgia’s tea districts lie near the northern climatic edge of commercial tea cultivation worldwide, alongside a handful of other temperate growing areas.
• Abandoned Soviet-era tea factories still stand across parts of Guria and Adjara, visible reminders of the industry’s mid-20th-century scale.
• The current revival favours small-batch, hand-processed orthodox tea over the bulk crush-tear-curl method used in the Soviet period.

Practical tips for visitors

Reach Mtatsminda Park by the funicular for the classic approach, or by taxi if travelling with luggage or in poor weather. Mid-October afternoons in Tbilisi are generally mild but can turn cool and breezy once the sun drops behind the mountain, so a light jacket is worth carrying even on a sunny day. The festival itself has no dress code and no entry ticket beyond any standard park or funicular fare; bring cash for small tea purchases, as not every stall will take cards. Confirm the exact date close to the time through local press, since the Association sets it only a few weeks ahead each year; GTour can arrange a private driver or guide for the day on request.

Combine it with

A tea-focused trip pairs naturally with a visit to the plantations themselves. Travellers can extend the day with a journey into Adjara, home of the historic Chakva estate and Georgia’s subtropical coastal gardens, or into Imereti, where smaller revival-era gardens are now producing green tea. Visitors staying in the capital can treat the festival as one stop within a broader exploration of Tbilisi, combining Mtatsminda Park with the old town and its museums on the same trip.

Questions travellers ask

Is the Georgian Tea Festival free to attend?

Entry to the festival area itself has typically been free, though visitors may pay the standard fare for the Mtatsminda Funicular or any paid park attractions they use separately. Small tastings from producer stalls are usually offered at no charge, while packaged tea is sold for a price.

Do I need tickets in advance?

No advance ticket has been required for the festival itself in past editions, since it functions as an open public tasting fair rather than a ticketed concert or exhibition. Checking the organisers’ announcements closer to the date is still useful in case arrangements change.

Is the festival suitable for children?

Yes. The park setting, informal food stalls and lack of alcohol-centred programming make it an easy family outing, and Mtatsminda Park’s amusement rides offer additional entertainment for children before or after visiting the tea stalls.

Can I buy tea to take home?

Most producers sell packaged black, green or white tea directly from their stalls, often at prices lower than in city shops since there is no retail middleman. Cash is the most reliable payment method, as card readers are not guaranteed at every table.

What Georgian tea varieties will I find?

Expect orthodox-processed black tea (shavi chai), green tea (mtsvane chai) and smaller quantities of white tea (tetri chai), mostly from Guria, Adjara and Imereti. Flavour and style vary noticeably by producer and altitude, which is part of the appeal of tasting widely.

Is English spoken at the stalls?

Some producers, particularly younger growers involved in export-oriented projects, speak conversational English, but many smaller family producers speak only Georgian. A guide or driver arranged for the day can help bridge this if detailed conversation with growers is a priority.

How do I get to Mtatsminda Park?

The most characteristic route is the historic funicular from its lower station near Chonkadze Street in central Tbilisi, which climbs directly to the park. Taxis and ride-hailing apps also reach the park by road, a useful option in cooler or wet weather.

What happens if it rains?

Mid-October in Tbilisi can bring rain showers, and the festival has in the past proceeded under cover at some stalls or with reduced outdoor seating rather than being cancelled outright. Checking local press on the day itself is the most reliable way to confirm whether the schedule has been adjusted.

Sources

• Georgian National Tourism Administration
• Agenda.ge
• Georgia Today
• Civil.ge
• Tbilisi City Hall
• National Statistics Office of Georgia