DILA · Georgian Red (Black) Tea

დილა — DILA

Georgian Red (Black) Tea · IMERETI

Pronunciation: [DI-la]

Biochemistry

DILA is fully oxidised. The process forms theaflavins and thearubigins — the polyphenols responsible for the amber-to-copper colour and the warming character. Bioavailable manganese and zinc are retained. Caffeine sits in the morning-tea range. The Imereti tea bush hybrids developed in 20th-century Georgia carry notes of fruit and honey, native to the variety.

• Caffeine: 40–70 mg per cup
• Theaflavins and thearubigins: high
• Manganese and zinc: bioavailable
• Oxidation: full
• Variety: Imereti hybrid

Character

Warm. Direct. Daily. Like a Georgian morning — no unnecessary words, but full of character. Notes of stone fruit and honey from the variety, body that holds milk if added, finish that lasts.

Name Legend

დილა (Dila) is the Georgian word for morning. Red tea is the morning ritual, the daily tonic, the start of the day. DILA is the base type for three states in GTNS: DILA (classic), MZIANI DILA (sun-dried), and KVAMLI DILA (smoked). The name belongs to the time of day when the tea is most often drunk.

Origin

• Estate: Teanium plantation, Village Akhalbediseuli, Imereti, Georgia
• Elevation: 240 m
• Harvest: Spring 2023
• Plantation size: 56 hectares
• Variety: Imereti tea bush hybrid (developed in 20th-century Georgia)
• Certification: Organic

How DILA is Made

1. Plucked: bud and 2 leaves
2. Withered: 18 hours
3. Rolled: 1 hour
4. Fermented (oxidised): 5 hours
5. Dried: 4 hours at 70°C
6. Baked: 15 minutes at 110°C

This six-step process is the foundation of every red tea in the Teanium catalogue. KVAMLI RKALI DILA — the vine-smoked flagship — adds a seventh step (7 minutes over grapevine wood) on top of this exact base. The same Imereti variety, the same six steps, then the smoke.

Brewing

• Water: 95–100°C
• Leaf: 5 g per 200 ml
• First infusion: 3 minutes
• Each next: +1 minute
• Total infusions: 2–3

DILA holds milk well if you take it that way. Without milk, taste the honey and stone fruit notes of the Imereti variety.

About GTNS

DILA is named according to the Georgian Tea Nomenclature Standard — the first open standard for naming Georgian tea, authored by Teanium. The Georgian word for morning becomes the name for the red leaf that begins the day. Read the full standard at teanium.com/pages/gtns.