Georgian Tea Nomenclature Standard

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

Version 1.7 — adds SHUKI (yellow tea type) and DZUELI (anaerobic aging sub-method).

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 Methods

Methods describe what was done to the leaf. They sit before the type when the processing is the defining feature.

მზიანი — MZIANI [mZIA-ni]

"Solar" — Drying under open sunlight. Preserves enzymes, chlorophyll, and volatile compounds.

ყურჩა — KURCHA [KUR-cha]

"Heat / Roast" — High-temperature roasting. Standard for dark oolongs. Incompatible with SHIDA.

კვამლი — KVAMLI [KVAM-li]

"Smoke" — Smoking over smouldering wood. Sub-method RKALI [r-KA-li] specifies grapevine.

შიდა — SHIDA [SHI-da]

"Internal" — Anaerobic fermentation in oxygen-free environment. Converts glutamic acid into GABA.

Sub-method DZUELI [DZUE-li] — ძველი — "Aged, mature." Extended anaerobic aging. Develops theaflavins without thermal processing. Resolves the need for deepened GABA teas without violating SHIDA + KURCHA prohibition. SHIDA DZUELI. New in v1.7.

Method Compatibility

Combination Status Reason
MZIANI + any type ✓ Compatible
KURCHA + NIAVI ✓ Standard dark oolong roasting
KVAMLI + any type ✓ Compatible
SHIDA + NIAVI / EGRISI / DILA / TOVLA / SHUKI ✓ Anaerobic fermentation works with active enzymes
SHIDA + SHUKI ✓ Anaerobic yellowing — maximum GABA (v1.7)
SHIDA DZUELI + any type ✓ Extended anaerobic aging (v1.7)
SHIDA + KVAMLI (SHIDA first) ✓ Fermentation, then smoking
SHIDA + KURCHA ✗ Roasting destroys GABA profile. DZUELI replaces KURCHA.

Tea Types

The type name is the core of the product name — always present. Each is a Georgian word carrying meaning.

Camellia Teas

  • თოვლა — TOVLA · White tea — minimal processing, highest catechin content
  • შუქი — SHUKI [SHU-ki] · Yellow tea — post-fixation yellowing. Between white and green. Caffeine 20–35 mg/cup. New in v1.7.
  • ეგრისი — EGRISI · Green tea — L-theanine to caffeine ≈ 2:1
  • მზიანი ცივი — MZIANI TSIVI · Living tea — sun-dried, active microbiome
  • ნიავი — NIAVI · Light oolong — partial oxidation, floral character
  • დილა — DILA · Red (black) tea — full oxidation

TKIANI Tisanes (Wild-Foraged)

TKIANI — open category for all wild-foraged tisanes. EN subtitle: "Tisane," not "Tea."

  • ტყიანი ანი — TKIANI ANI · Wild apple tisane
  • ტყიანი ნაპრალი — TKIANI NAPRALI · Wild bilberry tisane

Regions

  • იმერეთი — IMERETI · Central Georgia. Red clay soils. Historical heartland.
  • აჭარა — ADJARA · Black Sea coast. Rich, full-bodied leaf.
  • გურია — GURIA · Western Georgia. Delicate, aromatic leaf.
  • ლენტეხი — LENTEKHI · High-altitude. Concentrated, rare leaf.

Formats

  • ფოთი — FOTI · Loose leaf (default, not stated on packaging)
  • დაგები — DAGEBI · Pressed tea of any shape
  • კუბი — KUBI · Portion cube 2–3g (Teanium proprietary)
  • ქვარი — KVARI · Stone-ground whole leaf. Maximum bioavailability.

Five Principles for Extending the Protocol

  1. Name from Georgian language. All type names are Georgian words.
  2. A name, not a description. Indirect imagery, not a literal label.
  3. Transliteration by standard. BGN/PCGN 2009.
  4. Methods from approved glossary. MZIANI, KURCHA, KVAMLI (+RKALI), SHIDA (+DZUELI).
  5. Region as real geography.

v1.7 demonstrated this: SHUKI added as type, DZUELI as sub-method — without restructuring the core.

Roadmap: From Standard to Protection

  1. Adopt. Producers use the system. Buyers see unified language.
  2. Expand. Add type names and sub-methods (as SHUKI and DZUELI in v1.7).
  3. Associate. Working group to govern the standard.
  4. Geographical Indications. IMERETI TEA as protected designation.
  5. International recognition. NIAVI, DILA, RKALI, SHUKI become as known as Matcha.
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 with complete tea profiles.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Open for use, distribution, and extension.

For Georgian Tea Producers

GTNS is open. No licensing fee, no registration, no permission required.

Propose a new type name or contribute: gtns@teanium.com

For Media and Researchers

Press: press@teanium.com

Citation: Teanium. Georgian Tea Nomenclature Standard, v1.7. Batumi, Georgia. teanium.com/pages/gtns