Rize tea gardens
The tea gardens around Rize, east of Trabzon along the Black Sea coast, are where the vast majority of Turkey's tea is grown — terraced hillsides of bright green tea bushes climbing steeply from the coast into misty highlands, a landscape unlike anywhere else in the country. Turkey is one of the world's largest tea producers, almost entirely thanks to this region, and the crop has shaped local life since the 1940s when tea cultivation was introduced to replace failing hazelnut and tobacco economies. The Rize Tea Research Institute and its garden offer a formal introduction to the crop's history and processing.
Visiting is mostly about the drive and the scenery: winding coastal and mountain roads through endless rows of tea bushes, women in traditional dress hand-picking leaves on steep slopes, and small processing facilities dotted throughout the hills. Stopping at a roadside tea house for a freshly brewed glass, grown and processed within sight of where you're sitting, is the essential experience — simple, but genuinely distinctive to this part of Turkey.
Rize tea gardens FAQs
Some tea processing facilities and the Rize Tea Research Institute garden welcome visitors, though hours and access vary, so checking ahead is worthwhile.
Driving through and viewing the tea gardens is free; specific institutes or gardens may charge a small fee for exhibits.
Late spring through summer, during the main harvest season, shows the gardens at their most active and green.
Yes, local shops and roadside stands throughout Rize sell freshly processed tea, often at better prices than elsewhere in Turkey.
Not strictly necessary, but a guide or organized tour makes it easier to access processing facilities and understand what you're seeing.
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