Turkey’s first ‘Tea Library’ launched

RİZE

A Tea Library, the first of its kind in Turkey, has been launched at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University in the Black Sea province of Rize.

Currently, the library holds 938 volumes of books, all dedicated to tea, which is one of Turkish people’s favorite hot drinks.

“We have collected all books written in Turkish on tea here; we also have some books in foreign languages,” said Professor Hüseyin Karaman, the rector of the university, which is specialized in tea.

According to Karaman, the volumes in the library also include academic works such as dissertations, articles, reports and magazines on tea.

It is difficult to get books shipped from foreign countries because of the pandemic, but they are holding talks with diplomatic missions to obtain books, Karaman added.

Rize is also known as the Tea Capital of Turkey because it is the center of tea production in the country.

Last year, tea consumption in Turkey reached a record level, as people confined to their homes because of the COVID-19 brewed more of the hot drink.

The annual consumption rose to 4 kilograms per person in 2021 from 3.5 kilograms. Some 275,000 tons of the processed tea produced in the country last year were consumed in total.

It is estimated that Turks, on average, drink some 1,300 glasses of tea annually. Tea in Turkey is served in specially designed tulip-shaped glasses.

Consumption at cafes or tea houses declined due to lockdowns and curfews, but people sipped more tea at their homes.