Rize Tea Product Description and Distinguishing Features: Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an agricultural plant from the tea family (Theaceae) that grows in humid climates and is used to produce a beverage from its leaves and buds. Black tea is the result of appropriate processes such as withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying of the leaves, buds, and tender stems of the tea plant. Rize Tea, classified as black tea, exhibits unique taste, aroma, color, and flavor characteristics influenced by the following factors: Variety of tea plant grown in Rize (biological factors) Climate, soil, topography, and environmental conditions of Rize (geographical factors) Agricultural techniques applied from the cultivation of the tea plant to its harvest in Rize (agrotechnical factors) Black tea processing technique. Rize Tea derives its fundamental characteristics from the climate conditions. The mountains in Rize run parallel to the sea, reaching up to 3937 m at the highest point. Rize is covered with temperate rainforests, broadleaved up to approximately 750 m in altitude from the coast, mixed between 8001400 m, and dominated by needleleaved trees after 1600 m. Beyond 20002200 m, alpine meadows and sections exceeding 2400 m feature glacial lakes, making this ecosystem extremely rich in biological diversity. Rize's geological and climatic conditions give tea a distinctive quality. Because tea leaves begin to deteriorate from the moment they are plucked, it is essential to quickly transport the harvested fresh leaves to the tea processing facility and initiate the processing. Therefore, tea cultivation fields and processing facilities should be located in the same geographical region. This way, when the green tea leaves collected in Rize are rapidly transported to the tea processing centers in the province, it becomes possible to obtain highquality black tea. Additionally, the climate of the location where the facility processes the fresh tea leaves affects the bioclimatic processes during tea processing and the parameters controlling them. Thus, Rize Tea becomes a regionspecific product during processing. In other words, the content of the tea plant to be processed (genetic and biochemical differences in the tea plant due to growing conditions), the environmental conditions of the processing facility (affected by the climatic characteristics of the region), and the consumer's taste and aroma preferences influence the processing conditions of black tea, allowing it to develop a distinct identity in terms of color, bitterness, brightness, smell, and aroma. Therefore, Rize Tea has acquired its unique aroma and taste, influenced by the ecological and climatic conditions of its cultivation and processing environment, as well as the tea processing culture of the region. Production Method: Rize Tea is processed as black tea. Although there may be some differences in the systems used in factories in Rize to turn fresh tea leaves into black tea, the main processing steps are the same. The production of black tea consists of the following sequential stages: harvesting fresh tea leaves, withering, rolling, oxidation, drying, sorting, blending, and packaging. The methods used are essentially developed by modifying the Orthodox method according to certain principles. The human factor, wellversed in the region's tea processing technique, is crucial during the processing of Rize Tea. The processing stages of black tea are as follows. (Rize Tea does not include alternatives such as green tea or tea bags for filtering black/green tea): Harvesting Fresh Tea Leaves: Fresh tea leaves must be harvested according to TS 3225 standards. Leaves are manually, with scissors, or with teapicking machines collected, mainly consisting of two and a half leaves, with the top bud developing on the shoot tip and the fresh and tender first and second leaves below that do not give fiber. Withering: It is the process of reducing the internal water of the tea by evaporating it with hot air, making the tea leaves suitable for the physical rolling process. The temperature of the air to be given for withering may vary depending on the freshness, wetness, air, and working conditions of the fresh tea leaves. Rolling: The process of crushing, breaking, and twisting the withered tea leaves in various tea manufacturing machines, spreading the cell sap on the twisted leaf surface, and initiating oxidation. Oxidation: The process where the chemical compounds in the cell sap of the twisted fresh tea leaves undergo a biological change under the influence of polyphenol oxidase enzyme, resulting in the desired color, bitterness, brightness, smell, and aroma in black tea.Drying: The purpose of drying is to create an environment that prevents the loss of acquired properties and substances by stopping enzymatic oxidation, making the tea storable, packable, and transportable.Sorting: Sorting is the separation process of dried teas based on their fineness, thickness, and qualities. The sorted teas are placed in bags and labeled according to their characteristics. Storage and Packaging: The blended Rize Tea is packaged and introduced to the market. Blending involves mixing teas that have been classified according to their sizes and qualities, meeting the physical, chemical, and sensory criteria of Rize Tea.This process results in the unique characteristics and qualities of Rize Tea.