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Organic Georgian "Hero of Winter" Green Tea

Green · Imereti, Republic of Georgia

Organic Georgian "Hero of Winter" Green Tea

$21.00 USD

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Tasting notes

About these tasting notes

These are the tasting notes we and others pick up most often. Palates vary, so you may catch some, all, or different ones — flavor is personal and subjective. Nothing is added: there are no added flavorings in this tea. Any notes you find developed naturally in the tea plant through rediscovered artisanal processing techniques.

Sweet Corn

Sweet Pea

Edamame

Toasted Sesame

Hazelnut

Hints of Toasted Marshmallow

Effects

About these effects

These are the effects people most often report from this tea. Bodies differ, so treat them as a common guide rather than a promise — most people notice at least one, but what you feel is personal.

Energy

Soothe

Stress Relief

Hero of Winter - a tea cultivar that defies ice and snow

Identified and propagated by Tea Scientist, Ksenia Bakhtadze, often called the Grandmother of Georgian Tea industry, Kartuli #8 is the crown jewel of the Soviet-era Georgian tea program. It is a multi-generational hybrid derived from crosses between Chinese small-leaf (C. sinensis var. sinensis) and Indian Assam (C. sinensis var. assamica) tea stocks — the same foundational cross that produced the broader "Kolkhida" cultivar group, which constitutes the cultivar for most of our Georgian Tea offerings.

Kartuli #8 is the most frost tolerant amongst all Georgian Tea Cultivars, earning its colloquial title "Hero of Winter" (საქართველოს ზამთრის გმირი). It handles the tough Georgian Winters and roughly 7 months of snow throughout the year due to extremely robust and hearty qualities. The result is a leaf with elevated polyphenol content (measured at 7.5% w/w in Georgian green tea), high L-theanine levels driven by cool spring recovery after 7 months of cold winter stress. It is also characterized by low tannin levels — producing a cup that is smooth, sweet, malty, and aromatic with notes of sweet corn, hazelnut, and almost a hint of toasted marshmallow that lingers in the palate.

It is classified as a Group III cultivar — the most robust tier of Georgian winter-hardy hybrids, with medium-to-small sized leaves suited to the coldest, most northern, and most mountainous growing zones. You are trying tea from the farthest Northern region on earth! Any farther north and the tea plants will not survive.

Notes from Staff:

We mostly focus on oolongs at Old Mountain Tea, so we’re excited to offer this high-quality, supremely relaxing Georgian green tea! This one is similar to Japanese teas in vegetal aromas, and reminiscent of Chinese green teas with sweet notes of toasted nuts, this tea is a familiar take with a whole different character. The tea cultivar and cool Georgian terroir really makes a difference and we encourage you to contrast this with other green teas in a back-to-back tasting session!

Old Mountain Tea Guarantee

Our teas are guaranteed free from harmful chemicals. We source directly from small, clean family farms that take real pride in their work — no middlemen, no anonymous blends. Many of these teas are bug-bitten, and leafhoppers only feed on gardens grown without pesticides, so the leaf itself is living proof the garden is clean. Most of our teas are certified organic (USDA & EU), and every tea is traceable to the farm that made it.

Read our full guarantee →

Unique TerroirOrganic FarmsSmall Batch ProductionHand-harvested & ProcessedNo Added Flavors or Preservatives — Ever!Secure Checkout30-day Returns

Certified Organic — USDA & EU

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Origin & Terroir

Cultivar About this cultivar A frost-hardy hybrid bred in the 1960s–70s by Academician Ksenia Bakhtadze at the Chakvi Tea Research Institute, Kartuli #8 is a multi-generational cross of Chinese small-leaf and Assam stocks (the same lineage as the 1941 Kolkhida group). Compact and densely branched with medium-to-small leaves, it is the most cold-tolerant of nineteen Georgian Group III cultivars, surviving to −15 °C and dormant for seven months. That dormancy drives elevated polyphenols, high L-theanine, and low tannin, producing a smooth, sweet, malty cup with floral and herbal notes — and naturally pest-free, organic-suitable plantations: საქართველოს ზამთრის გმირი(meaning, "Hero of Winter")
Status About this status The rarity of this tea comes from 2 factors, the unique Georgian Terroir, and the harder to locate "Hero of Winter" tea cultivar. Most Georgian tea production in the modern era focuses on the Kolkhida tea varietal from Abandoned Soviet tea farms - "Hero of Winter" cultivar it can be considered more of a "specialty" tea made only for niche markets. Luckily for us, there is a section of the tea farm we work with that has kept part of this tradition of Heritage Georgian Tea Cultivars alive.: Rare
Processing method: Green Tea(綠茶) (lǜ chá )
Charcoal roast level: 0%

Region: Gumati Village, Imereti, Republic of Georgia
Harvest: Spring 2025
Elevation: 490 meters
Climate: Cool, Mountainous, Humid
Oxidation level What oxidation level means Oxidation is what turns green tea into oolong or black tea — as leaves are bruised and rested, enzymes react with oxygen and deepen their color and flavor. Green tea sees almost none; oolong ranges widely; black tea is oxidized fully.: (5% · Low)
Picking style Why picking style matters Hand-plucking means workers select each bud and leaf by touch, one at a time — far slower and more expensive than machine harvesting, but gentler on the leaf. As labor costs rise, fewer gardens still pick this way, making hand-plucked tea increasingly rare.: Hand Plucked
Bug-bitten level: 0%