Story:
Tea farms? In Georgia? There’s a reason few people know about them – when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, so did Georgia’s tea production. The couple behind “Renegade Tea Estate”, Hannes Saarpuu and his wife Kristiina Mehik, have made it their mission to bring these abandoned tea plantations back to life and grow tea in Georgia – but this time organically and, above all, transparently. “During the Soviet era, the focus was on maximum yield, and quality fell by the wayside“, says Saarpuu. “The roots of the tea bushes go back 70 to 80 years”. When “Renegade Tea Estate” took on the task of recultivating the old tea plantations, they took a completely new approach: an artisan enterprise and certified organic.
The women who work the fields are all former tea pickers, the oldest of whom is 65 years old. The wage they earn here is 15 euros per kilo. By contrast, “the price of a kilo of tea on the world market is currently around 3 dollars”, says Saarpuu, criticizing the slave-like living conditions and low wages of people working on tea plantations around the world.
In order to provide the necessary planning security, people can adopt their own tea garden and secure a year’s supply of individually produced tea. Over 2000 families from all over the world now support “Renegade Tea Estate” in this way. The owner’s story is just as intriguing: Hannes Saarpuu and Kristiina Mehik are originally from Estonia, never intended to become tea farmers or even move to Georgia, but were so fascinated by the history of the place and motivated to make a positive difference in the world of tea that they left their corporate jobs.
Guests can also visit the farm, take a guided tour and see the entire production process from leaf to cup.
For adventure.com, I would like to contribute a feature with text + photos in the category “Dispatches / Food for Thought” and introduce readers to this inspiring project.
Photos:
See below for a curated collection of photos. More images are available upon request, including landscape and portrait.
Copy filing:
Once accepted, I can submit this story within two weeks.
Other:
I’ve already been at “Renegade” while exploring Georgia for a full 6 months last year, and I was able to spend all day with the team to really get an insight into the whole tea production process. To be fully transparent, I’ve already written about “Renegade” for a non-competing German print magazine, but the linked photos are all exclusive and unpublished.
Sharable element:
I can also provide videos to promote the story on social media.
Here’s a reel that beautifully captures the atmosphere at “Renegade Tea Farms” in Georgia:
