Tea will be talked about more frequently with its newly discovered aspects.

As the tea season comes to an end in Rize, the new source of income for producers has become collecting tea seeds. While white tea, green tea, matcha, oolong tea, and black tea are produced from the leaves of the tea plant, tea powder is produced for dishes, sweet snacks, and ice cream. In addition, the charcoal factory established by the Rize Municipality also utilized the waste from tea. Thanks to the factory that has started operations, the production of pellets and barbecue charcoal from the waste left after processing tea has begun. Finally, tea producers have started to enter the tea garden for the oldest known part of the tea, the seed.

NEW SEEDS TO BE ADDED TO TEA FIELDS

Thanks to the tea seeds known to be sent to regions where the tea plant is scarce, such as Trabzon, Ordu, and Giresun, the planting of tea plants in new areas is being realized with these seeds. Additionally, when the tea seed factory, which is under construction under the priority of the Rize Agricultural Chamber, becomes operational, tea seed oil and soap production from this oil will take place. Tea producers, who are waiting for the kilogram price of tea seeds to be determined, expect a price range of 12-14 TL per kilogram for the seeds they collect.

PRODUCERS SATISFIED WITH TEA SEEDS

Fatma Akyar, who stated that they entered the garden to collect tea seeds after the 3rd harvest of fresh tea campaign ended, said, "We are collecting tea seeds. The tea is finished, now the tea seeds have started. God has provided for us, we are collecting. A thousand thanks to God." Binnaz Köksal, who noted that they collect tea seeds together with her neighbors in a cooperative manner, said, "God has given us a livelihood, He has given us our tea. The tea season is over, and now He has given us tea seeds. We are collecting together with neighbors. We drink our tea and coffee. Then we enter the tea garden. We are very happy. Of course, it is a bit difficult to collect. If they give a good price, we would be very happy."

SEEDS WILL ALSO BE USED IN FOOD AND DYE INDUSTRIES

Neriman Çomoğlu, a tea producer who expressed that they want to sell the tea seeds they collect at a good price, stated, "We finished the tea, and by God's grace, we closed the campaign. We closed the 3rd harvest. No time to waste. September is the most beautiful time in our hometown. We are trying to evaluate these beautiful days with tea seeds. If they give us a good price, we would be very pleased. These tea seeds will be used in the planting of new tea gardens. Additionally, a new factory is being built, which will be used in food and dye industries," she said.

THE LEAF, WASTE, AND SEED OF TEA ARE ALL VALUABLE

Yusuf Ziya Alim, General Manager of ÇAYKUR, stated that R&D studies continue in different ways every day and noted: "We are working on oil production from tea seeds. This oil is used in the Far East. We have obtained a very effective, beneficial oil equivalent to olive oil in cosmetics and cooking. Our studies continue on 'What else could be different in terms of cost?' We have a very high chance of entering the cosmetic industry in the first stage. However, a quality oil is obtained from tea seeds. We produced this in our supercritical machine. The skin completely absorbs this oil. It has very different properties. God willing, we will work on this issue in a competitive manner. In addition to tea, we will also provide a different economic aspect of the seed to our producers. We are thinking of different things with this, but initially, we will try to extract the oil from tea seeds and use it both in the cosmetic industry and in other ways."