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Press release…
TURKISH TEA HOSTS JAPANESE EXPERTS IN ITS HOMELAND…
Organised by the Eastern Black Sea Exporters’ Association (DKİB) with the support of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye and within the scope of the TURQUALITY® Programme, the ‘Turkish Tea Welcomes Japan’ event was held in Rize and Trabzon between 6–10 October 2025 as part of the ‘Taste Turkish Tea’ Project.
Throughout the event, Japanese tea experts were treated to a rich programme covering everything from Turkish tea production culture to gastronomy, brewing techniques and cultural heritage.
The programme began with an artisan tea brewing workshop held at the Rize Agricultural Botanical Tea Garden. Hosted by award-winning Turkish Tea Expert Aytül Turan, the workshop showcased handmade samples of white, green, oolong, black and herbal teas; Japanese experts also had the opportunity to experience handmade tea production first-hand and apply Turkish tea production techniques on site.
On the second day, two Turkish Tea Experts shared traditional brewing techniques, equipment and tips at the Rize Tea Bazaar. The nine Japanese tea experts who participated in this workshop were selected as ‘New Turkish Tea Ambassadors’ at the end of the programme. Then, in the ‘Duels of the Masters – Turkish Tea Brewing Art Competition’ that followed, four Japanese tea experts took to the stage and demonstrated the techniques they had learned in front of the jury. Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Rector Professor Dr. Yusuf Yılmaz, ÇAYKUR General Manager Yusuf Ziya Alim, Rize Commodity Exchange President Mehmet Erdoğan, DKİB Board Member Ali Can and DKİB Secretary General Ongan Bahadır attended the award ceremony, where the jury’s careful evaluation resulted in the title of ‘Turkish Tea Master’ being awarded, and the champion received the award from Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş.
On the third day, the Japanese delegation observed the final production of the season at ÇAYMER and received information about the production stages from experts. Afterwards, in Hemşin district, they enjoyed a special gastronomic experience featuring delicacies from the Ottoman cuisine at the historic mansion belonging to the family of Yusuf Pirim, Türkiye’s Tea Brewing Champion. Discussions in the tea garden focused on tea harvesting and quality factors. The day concluded with an apple tea brewing workshop and tasting event.
On the last day of the event, the delegation visited the model hazelnut garden in İkisu, Trabzon. In this exemplary garden, which is part of a project carried out by the Trabzon Commodity Exchange in recent years to increase production and quality of hazelnuts, one of the region’s most important export products, Sebahattin Arslantürk, a veteran hazelnut producer in the region, provided valuable information to the participants.
This comprehensive programme represented an important step in deepening the exchange of knowledge, culture and experience between Japan and Türkiye and in promoting the unique identity of Turkish tea at an international level. DKİB aims to elevate Turkish tea to its rightful place on the world tea stage through such activities…
