Natela lives in Nagobilevi Village just to the west of Ozurgeti Town in the Georgian Province of Guria. Natela’s small patch of land is on a south facing slope just 10km from the Black Sea coast. She has lived there all her life and though it would be impolite to ask her age she admits to being a senior citizen, though she still works all day, growing citrus fruits, vegetables and tea, and during summer months hand making her tea. Natela is a great talker and has the twinkling eyes of one who laughs a lot; nothing please her more than to show visitors around her homestead and traditional wooden house and to sit them down with a pot of tea and home baked cake. You can talk with Natela for a long time without knowing a word of Georgian or her a word of English; she just embraces you with friendship.

During Soviet times Natela worked at the local State Tea Farm. When long ago she married a village boy her new mother-in-law taught her to pluck tea and, over the years she progressed to field supervisor. Her sister was also a tea worker at the tea factory and was sent to China as part of her training. All the tea produced in Georgia was destined for the samovars of Soviet Russia so while surrounded by tea during the day the factory workers had no tea to drink at home – and security at the factory was strong. However, the fields were unguarded and, like many of their fellow tea workers Natela and her sister would steal green leaf from the bushes at the weekend and hand make tea at home. Just as now the green leaf would be withered in the shade of a farmhouse veranda and when ready would be put into the washing bowl for hand rolling. On to overnight oxidation covered with a damp towel and then out into the strong Georgian summer sun to dry.

Since Georgia’s independence in 1991 Natela has taught a whole new generation of her fellow villagers to hand make tea and many are now members of the Georgian Hand Made Tea Makers Association. Some use small locally made electric powered rolling tables to do the hard work of rolling but Natela still crafts her teas completely by hand. In a year she can produce about 220lbs all of which is purchased by More Tea Ltd. Natela’s granddaughter is now at university and, unlike it was in Soviet times, this is no longer free. With the proceeds of her tea sales Natela is paying her granddaughter’s university fees – when she graduates Natela thinks she may retire – but it’s difficult to believe.