Rize’s tea masters to share Turkish brewing art in Japan

TRABZON

In a bid to showcase the rich tradition of Turkish tea, the Trade Ministry is bringing expert tea brewers from the Black Sea province of Rize to Japan from Dec. 11 to 13, where they will host classes and competitions, offering a taste of the country's finest tea craftsmanship to Japanese enthusiasts.

Carried out by the Eastern Black Sea Exporters' Association (DKİB) under the coordination of the ministry and as part of the "Turquality Promotion Project," the event aims to enhance the brand awareness of the art of Turkish tea brewing.

Şaban Turgut, the deputy chairman of the association, told state-run Anadolu Agency that they launched the project in a bid to promote Turkish tea in international markets.

Over the project's roughly four-year duration, they will host tea brewing and tasting events, along with online and social media marketing campaigns, shows, conferences and seminars, according to Turgut.

These initiatives will primarily focus on the potentially lucrative markets of Russia, China, Japan and the Turkic States, in addition to the countries of the European Union and the Middle East, Turgut noted.

Referring to Turkish tea as the "green gold" of the region, he emphasized that their objective is to boost exports by successfully promoting the top-drawer tea in these specific markets.

Turgut noted that they had also previously arranged events in collaboration with tea-producing firms in Japan, the first stop of the project.

"During our earlier inspection program in Japan, we saw a high level of interest in the Turkish tea. In light of this, we chose to launch the promotion initiative there,” he said.

Turgut highlighted that by vigorously pursuing promotional efforts tailored to the target nations, the project's upcoming initiatives aim to boost Türkiye's annual tea exports, currently at 5,300 tons, to 10,000 tons in its first phase.