The Chinese Man Who Introduced Tea Production to Georgia 🇬🇪 🇨🇳
- mukhrang
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
(Chai, China, Chakvi) could be another headline for the blog I am presenting now. In the last three years, Georgia has been becoming increasingly popular among Chinese tourists. According to statistics, around 130 000 visitors came to Georgia in 2025, which is a 40% increase compared to 2024.
As I personally have experience working with them as a tour guide, I can say that their main interests are nature, mountains, hiking, and picturesque places. However, they are also quite interested in history, especially when they learn about connections between China and Georgia. While driving around the country, we can see two major infrastructure projects currently under construction: the Mleta–Kobi Tunnel, which will become the longest tunnel in Georgia at 9 km, and the Tbilisi–Batumi highway, which is being built with the involvement of the Chinese state-owned company China Road and Bridge Corporation.
Chinese guests are often proud when they see their country contributing to Georgian infrastructure. These are some of the things you can observe during tours.
In this blog, I want to write about a somewhat forgotten story of a Chinese man, Lao Jin Jao, who first started tea production in Georgia.
Everything began in the 1890s, when Russian merchant Konstantin Popov discovered that the land of Adjara and Guria had favorable conditions for tea production. However, at that time there were no specialists for this crop in Georgia. That is why Popov invited Lao Jin Jao and laid the foundation for tea plantations in the western part of Georgia.
In 1893, at the age of 23, Lao Jin Jao arrived in Batumi. He was originally from Guangdong Province, China, more specifically from the city of Zhaoqing. Together with nine compatriots, most of whom later died from malaria, he laid the foundation for the development of tea cultivation in Georgia.
His name is associated with the creation of a tea seed greenhouse and the first small tea-processing factory. Lao Jin Jao was the full-time manager of Popov’s estates, and later he also established his own tea factory.
The tea grown in Chakvi by Lao Jin Jao was considered the best in the Russian Empire. According to writer David Kldiashvili, the tea had excellent taste and color and was in no way inferior to Chinese tea. In 1900, at the Paris World Exhibition, the tea produced in Chakvi by Lao Jin Jao was awarded a gold medal with the inscription: “Caucasian tea is the best in the world.”
As mentioned, Chakvi is a small seaside town in the Adjara region, about 20 km from Batumi. The name of this town is also sometimes associated with Lao Jin Jao, as he contributed significantly to its development. Today, Chakvi is a beautiful seaside town and a great destination for family vacations.
He was originally invited to Georgia for three years, but he ended up staying for 30 years. He left Georgia in 1926, deeply attached to the country he had helped develop. Lao Jin Jao’s son married a Georgian woman, and his great-granddaughter still lives in Tbilisi.
It is said that the house where Lao Jin Jao lived in Chakvi could eventually be turned into a state museum dedicated to him. At the moment, however, you can visit the Batumi Technological Museum, where his personal items are displayed and his story is preserved.
Today, tea production in Georgia is not at the same level as it once was, but local brands are still widely available in supermarkets if you would like to try them.
Mukhran Guliashvili
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