Matsesta Tea Plantation | Russia

Just a few kilometers from Sochi’s Black Sea coast, in the village of Izmailovka, you can see the Krasnodar tea being grown. Since the 19th century this area has been famous for developing its own distinctive blends. The first tea plants were brought to the Sochi area from China. But it was only a few decades later that the local farmers had learned how to properly cultivate the plantations. The secrets of the trade are simple: to make a perfect blend you have to pick only the top three leaves. The weather is also a key factor – the world’s mostly northerly tea has to be collected quickly, before it turns cold in the Caucasus mountains.