Ramaz Chanturiya has been involved in the tea industry since 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. Over the years, while running a family tea company, he has acquired expertise in every stage of the tea production chain – from leaf to cup. For the last 20 years, he’s been specializing in providing various services to tea market participants.
A Family of Trailblazers
Chanturiya represents a third generation of a tea dynasty that’s known in almost all tea-producing countries. His grandfather was among the first Soviet tea professionals, blazing the industry trail in the Soviet Union during the early 1930s. His father and mother are also tea specialists, who both started their professional lives as tea scientists. His father, Dr. Otary Chanturiya, started his career during the second half of the 20th century, conducting research on determinants of tea flavor. Moving up the professional ladder, Dr. Chanturiya eventually became the head of the Tea Ministry of the USSR.
Since 2001, Chanturiya has been the head of Rusteacoffee – a non-profit association of all the largest tea companies in Russia and the CIS countries. The association promotes interests of the entire tea industry, focusing on issues such as technical and customs-tariff regulations, media relations and international communications. As the head of this association, Chanturiya concentrates his energy on lobbying efforts as well as other activities promoting industry interests.
Tea Masters Cup
In 2013, together with his brother and partner David Chanturiya, Chanturiya founded the Tea Masters Cup (TMC), a framework of international competitions for tea industry professionals.
World Tea News chats with Chanturiya, to go in-depth about the Tea Masters Cup and its value to the global tea industry.
Question: Hi, Ramaz. Thanks for your time. How did the Tea Masters Cup come about and what was the original goal of the international tournament?..
