Lankaran tea: a leaf from the Caspian shore
Azerbaijan grows its own tea. Its home is the green, humid Lankaran-Astara region on the southern Caspian shore, at the foot of the Talysh mountains.
Most of the country's tea comes from this region: Lankaran, Astara, Masalli and Lerik. There are plantations in the north-west too, in Zaqatala and Balakan, yet when Azerbaijanis speak of their own tea, Lankaran comes to mind first.
A gift of climate
The tea bush loves mild winters, generous rain and humid air. Lankaran's subtropical climate, sea breeze and mountain slopes give the plant a natural home.
A century of history
The first experimental tea bushes in Lankaran were planted at the end of the nineteenth century. Industrial tea growing spread widely in the twentieth century, in the Soviet era, and reached its peak in the 1980s. After the difficult years that followed independence, the industry is reviving: in 2018 a state programme for the development of tea growing for 2018 to 2027 was adopted.
In the glass
Many describe Lankaran tea as soft, gently fragrant and low in bitterness. It is best enjoyed without haste, in an armudu glass, with lemon or a spoonful of preserves.
Lankaran tea has its own place on the LABLABI menu, for those who love the local leaf and for those tasting it for the first time.
