Tea in Iran

The history of tea culture in Iran started at the end of the 15th century. Before that coffee was the main beverage in Iran. However, most of the coffee producing countries were located far from Iran, making shipping very difficult. With a major tea producing country, China, located on a nearby trading path, "the silk road", and the shipping of tea was much easier. That was a main reason why tea became much popular in Iran. As a result, the demand for tea grew, and more tea needed to be imported to match Iran's consumption. Iran failed in their first attempt to cultivate tea in their own country in 1882 with seeds from India. In 1899, Mohammed Milza, living in India at the time, brought 3000 saplings into his country from the Northern part of India, Kangra. He started the cultivation in the region Giran, south of the Caspian sea. The climate there was well suited for tea cultivation, and the tea industry quickly expanded in Giran and Mazandran region. In 1934, the first modern style tea factory was built. Now there are 107 tea factories and a total of 32000 hectare of tea farms. Most of the farms are located the hillsides of Iran like the farms in Darjeeling. These farms produce an orthodox style of black tea. The color of Iranian tea is red and taste is fairly light, and it is delicious without adding any milk or sugar. The total production of black tea in 1992 was approximately 56000 tons. The imported amount was 35000 tons which was drastic decrease from 1991. The total amount of tea consumption was 95000 tons. The amount of the tea consumption continues to increase, and Iran is planing to expand the number of farms in the country.

(Shigehiro Kodomari)