Tea production

Our warmshower at the Çay house gives us a generous breakfast and we cycle to Hopa, the last larger town before the Georgian border. Along the way, it is full of tea plants everywhere. It is partly raining and the landscape is pretty green. We ask at several tea factories for a visit and at number 6, the women explains us how Lipton is producing the tea. However, entering is not allowed. Almost before dawn, we meet a very friendly security guy at the Çaykur tea factory, number 7, and he shows us the whole production site and explains each of the steps. Tea is made by fermentation. They add only water and heat. And as smaller the result, the better the tea quality.

In Hopa, we meet a warmshower (a good friend of our host before) who is bringing us to his beach house. We can stay there for the night and listen to the ocean.

It was our last full day in Turkey. From here, we can already see our final destination! Batumi in Georgia. It feels unbelievable that we have cycled so far. However, can't wait to cross the boarder and enjoy days of resting and holiday.Read more