It is classless and enjoyed equally by all — one can see a well-tattered teapot brewing in a corner of the field, it is served readily in tulip-shaped glasses in ferries and every single tourist is offered a glass of tea in carpet shops.
He drew attention to the fact that there was a tea trade in Istanbul in 1631 and mentioned a tea offering in Bitlis only once during his travels at a banquet given by the Kurdish Bey of Bitlis in honor of Melek Ahmet Pasha, noting that tea was among countless drinks served to guests and that he has tasted it for the first time.
While commenting about the tea offered to them during her visits to Istanbul and Bursa in 1836, Pardoe said that it was too watery and the way it was served was a bit clumsy as if people had no clue on how it should be served.
Zihni Derin, appointed as the tea organizer of the Agriculture Ministry in 1938, examined the tea gardens established by the Russians in Batumi, now Georgia, and its surroundings and carried the experience from there to Rize.
Considering the high adaptation capacity of Rize people, I will not be surprised a bit to see the locals nibbling fermented pickled tea leaves, pretty much like “laphet” in Myanmar, where it is a must-serve item of hospitality.
The good news is that Gökmen Sözen, the foremost organizer of gastronomy-focused organizations in Turkey, has recently initiated the first edition of GastroRize, in order to bring the gastronomy circles to find out about culinary values of the province of Rize and to introduce its products to a wider group of chefs, hospitality sector, food writers and journalists.