Georgian Tea Nomenclature Standard

The first open standard for naming Georgian tea. Authored by Teanium. Open for adoption by all Georgian tea producers.

Why GTNS Exists

Georgia has produced tea for over 180 years. The country's terroir — subtropical climate, volcanic soils, Western Caucasus mountain relief — cannot be reproduced anywhere on the planet. Yet Georgian tea has spoken in a foreign language. "Sheng," "Shou Mei," "Shaikun" are Chinese terms; applied to Georgian products, they erase Georgian identity.

This is not a quality problem. It is a nomenclature problem.

A product without a name is a commodity. A product with a name in its native language is culture, history, and a protected terroir.

GTNS is the first open standard for naming Georgian tea — designed as a tool for the entire industry, not the property of a single producer.

Protocol Architecture

[METHOD?] [TYPE] ✦ [REGION] ◈ [FORMAT?]

• Method (optional) — how the leaf was processed
• Type (required) — what the leaf is
• Region (required) — where the leaf was grown
• Format (optional) — how the leaf is presented

Separators: ✦ between name and region, ◈ between region and format. Fallbacks for plain text: · and //.

The three-line label on every Teanium pack carries: Georgian script in primary size, Latin transliteration following the BGN/PCGN 2009 standard, and an English subtitle that names the leaf's biochemical state — not its flavour.

The Four Methods

Methods describe what was done to the leaf. They sit before the type when the processing is the defining feature. A leaf without an explicit method follows the default for its type.

Method Compatibility

Tea Types

The type name is the core of the product name — always present. Each type is a Georgian word that carries meaning: a metaphor for character, a place, a state of nature.

Camellia Teas

• თოვლა — TOVLA · White tea — minimal processing, highest catechin content, low caffeine
• ეგრისი — EGRISI · Green tea — L-theanine to caffeine ratio ≈ 2:1
• მზიანი ცივი — MZIANI TSIVI · Living tea — sun-dried, active microbiome cultures
• ნიავი — NIAVI · Light oolong — partial oxidation, floral character
• დილა — DILA · Red (black) tea — full oxidation, base for MZIANI DILA and KVAMLI DILA

TKIANI Tisanes (Wild-Foraged)

TKIANI is the open category for wild-foraged tisanes. The English subtitle is always "Tisane," never "Tea." The category is open for extension as new wild plants enter the canon.

• ტყიანი ანი — TKIANI ANI · Wild apple tisane — quercetin, chlorogenic acid, vitamin C
• ტყიანი ნაპრალი — TKIANI NAPRALI · Wild bilberry tisane — anthocyanins, ORAC index 4–5× cultivated berry

Regions

The region is required. It anchors the product in real geography and protects future Geographical Indications (GI) applications.

• იმერეთი — IMERETI · Central Georgia. Subtropical climate, red clay soils. Historical heartland of Georgian tea cultivation.
• აჭარა — ADJARA · Black Sea coast. High humidity, mild winters. Rich, full-bodied leaf.
• გურია — GURIA · Western Georgia. Maritime and mountain climate combine. Delicate, aromatic leaf.
• ლენტეხი — LENTEKHI · High-altitude region. Extreme terroir, short season. Concentrated, rare leaf.

Formats

The format describes how the leaf is presented to the drinker. Loose leaf is the default and is not stated on the pack.

• ფოთი — FOTI · Loose leaf. Default. Not stated on packaging.
• დაგები — DAGEBI · Pressed tea of any shape. Industry standard for traditional pressing.
• კუბი — KUBI · Portion cube of 2–3 grams. Teanium's proprietary format. Designed for one cup, one cube.
• ქვარი — KVARI [KVA-ri] · Stone-ground whole leaf. Maximum bioavailability — the whole leaf is consumed, not infused. Positioned alongside matcha, not against. Different process, different leaf, both honour their tradition.

Five Principles for Extending the Protocol

Producers may develop their own type names. These five principles ensure compatibility with the standard:

1. Name from the Georgian language. All type names must be Georgian words with exact meaning.
2. A name, not a description. The word must function as a proper name through indirect imagery — a metaphor for the leaf's character, not a literal label.
3. Transliteration by standard. Latin transliteration follows BGN/PCGN 2009.
4. Methods from the approved glossary only. MZIANI, KURCHA, KVAMLI (with sub-methods), SHIDA. Extensions go through the community process.
5. Region as real geography. The region name corresponds to actual cultivation and primary processing location, not a marketing identifier.

Roadmap: From Standard to Protection

1. Adopt the nomenclature. Producers use the system on packs and product pages. Buyers encounter a unified language across the industry.
2. Expand the glossary. Producers add type names for unique products. Each addition is documented and reviewed.
3. Industry association. A working group of producers, retailers, and researchers governs the standard.
4. Geographical Indications. Apply for IMERETI TEA as a protected designation, following Champagne, Darjeeling, Rooibos.
5. International recognition. NIAVI, DILA, RKALI become as recognisable as Matcha, Sencha, or Gyokuro — but as Georgian.

A standard is not created by decree. It is created by example — and adopted by those who see value in it.

Download GTNS

The full standard is available as PDF in three languages. Each version includes complete tea profiles for all current types: biochemistry, character, name legend, and brewing.

• GTNS — English (PDF)
• GTNS — Русский (PDF)
• GTNS — ქართული (PDF)

License: CC BY-SA 4.0. The standard is open for use, distribution, and extension under the same license.

For Georgian Tea Producers

GTNS is open. There is no licensing fee, no registration, no permission required. If you produce Georgian tea and the standard is useful to you, use it.

If you want to propose a new type name, extend the method glossary, or contribute to a future version — write to gtns@teanium.com.

The future GTNS Industry Association is forming. Founding members will help shape the next iteration of the standard.

For Media and Researchers

GTNS is the first open tea nomenclature standard authored as a community protocol from inception. No other tea naming system — Chinese, Japanese, Indian — was originally designed as an open standard for an entire industry.

Press contact: press@teanium.com

Citation: Teanium. Georgian Tea Nomenclature Standard. Batumi, Georgia. teanium.com/pages/gtns