Rize Food Guide: Tea Culture, Hamsi and the Black Sea Mountain Kitchen

Rize’s food culture is built on two foundations that don’t exist anywhere else in Turkey at the same scale: tea and the specific food traditions of the mountain peoples (Hemşin, Laz) who inhabit the valleys rising from the coast to the Kaçkar range. Understanding Rize food means understanding the relationship between the landscape (the steep wet hillsides, the high yaylalar, the fast mountain rivers) and what it produces.

For specific dishes, see food to try in Rize.

Tea culture

Turkey is the world’s largest per-capita consumer of tea and one of the world’s largest producers. Rize province grows essentially all of Turkey’s domestically produced tea - the 60,000+ tonnes harvested annually from the steep coastal slopes fill the tulip-shaped çay glasses on every Turkish table, from Edirne to Van, from Istanbul to Trabzon.

The cultivation: Tea (Camellia sinensis) was introduced to Turkey from Georgia in the early 20th century, with large-scale cultivation beginning in the 1940s under state direction (Çaykur, the state tea company, was founded 1971). The Rize climate - exceptionally high rainfall (1,500–3,000mm/year), mild temperatures, well-drained volcanic hillside soil - proved ideal.

The harvest: Three harvests per year: early May (the most prized, lightest and most fragrant); mid-summer; October. The picking is primarily done by hand - two leaves and a bud per shoot, by the women of the region in long aprons, using the traditional shoulder bags.

What the tea tastes like: Rize çayı brewed from fresh local leaves has a lighter, more fragrant character than the uniform Çaykur blend sold in supermarkets. The fresh-harvest single-estate versions available directly from farms or specialist shops in Rize represent the potential of the raw material.

Drinking tea in Rize: Tea here is drunk from a tulip-shaped glass in a tea garden with a view over the plantation or the sea. The social function is the same as everywhere in Turkey - tea creates time for conversation, for doing nothing, for being. But in Rize, the tea has a connection to the landscape that is visible and direct.

The Hemşin food tradition

The Hemşin people - a distinct community in the mountain valleys above Rize and Artvin - have a specific food culture that differs from both the broader Black Sea tradition and the Turkish national cuisine.

Hemşin böreği: A sweet layered pastry made with local butter and sugar - unlike savoury börek. The Hemşin pastry tradition reflects both their historical Armenian connection and their position as itinerant pastry-makers who worked throughout the Ottoman Empire.

Pastry culture: The Hemşin were famous as pastry chefs (muhallebici) throughout the Ottoman Empire - seasonal migration to Istanbul and other cities to operate sweet shops was a Hemşin cultural pattern. This food trade expertise inflects the local food.

Mountain dairy: Hemşin valley kolot and tulum cheese - fresh and aged varieties with a distinct flavour from the high-meadow-grazed cattle.

Deli bal (mad honey)

One of Rize’s most unusual food products - honey from bees feeding on the flowering rhododendrons (specifically Rhododendron ponticum) of the Kaçkar slopes. The rhododendron nectar contains grayanotoxin, which in the honey produces a mild intoxicating and relaxing effect.

History: Deli bal has been known since antiquity - Xenophon mentions soldiers being incapacitated by honey from the Pontic region (likely from this area). It was used as a folk medicine and a psychoactive in the region for centuries.

Commercial production: Sold at valley markets and specialist shops in Rize in small jars. ₺400–800/kg for genuine deli bal. The quantity required for effect is small - a teaspoon. Larger amounts cause significant poisoning symptoms (nausea, dizziness, low blood pressure).

How to approach it: Buy from a reputable market vendor who can explain the product; eat a very small amount with bread or tea; treat it as a curiosity and a specifically Rize food item rather than a recreational drug.

Black Sea corn tradition

The corn cultivation and cooking tradition is the same as Trabzon - mıhlama, cornbread, corn flour as a thickener and base. See Trabzon food guide for the full context on this shared tradition.

Mountain water and rivers

The Kaçkar rivers produce cold, clear water that is used for river fish farming (trout, alabalık) and natural drinking water. The Ayder and Fırtına valley restaurants serve trout from the local rivers - a direct connection between the mountain landscape and the table.

Dishes You Must Try

Rize food shares the Black Sea food culture with Trabzon - hamsi in season, mıhlama, cornbread, and mountain dairy - but adds the specific tea dimension and the Hemşin culinary tradition from the mountain valleys.

Fresh Rize tea

The fundamental Rize food experience: drinking fresh-brewed Rize çayı from leaves grown on the hillsides visible from the café window. The Turkish tea drunk across the country is overwhelmingly grown in this province; drinking it at the source has a completeness to it.

Fresh vs packaged: Freshly harvested tea from local small producers has a lighter, more fragrant character than the mass-market Çaykur blend. Ask at local tea shops or farm visits for single-harvest tea (taze çay).

Where to drink it: The tea houses (çay bahçesi) with plantation views above the city; farm visits where tea is brewed immediately after processing; the Atatürk Tea Garden at the top of the city.

Cost: ₺20–35 per glass. Fresh plantation tea (50g): ₺40–100.

Hamsi (anchovy)

The same anchovy culture as Trabzon - October–February season, multiple preparations: hamsi pilavı (baked rice with anchovy layers), tava hamsi (pan-fried with cornmeal coating), hamsi köfte (ground anchovy meatballs), and hamsi baked into cornbread. The hamsi supply comes from the same Black Sea shoals.

Rize specificity: The restaurants in Rize and Pazar district are less tourist-oriented than Trabzon, so the hamsi preparation tends to be more straightforwardly local.

Price: ₺100–150 per portion for tava hamsi at a restaurant.

Mıhlama and Black Sea corn dishes

Mıhlama/kuymak - the corn and cheese fondue - is the same as in Trabzon: cornmeal cooked with butter and local cheese until it becomes an elastic, fondue-like mass, eaten with a spoon directly from the pan. The local kolot and tulum cheese quality in Rize is excellent, particularly from the Hemşin valley producers.

Rize-specific preparation: Some valley restaurants in the Hemşin area make kuymak with higher-quality local cheese than the city versions - worth seeking if visiting the valleys.

Price: ₺100–160 per portion at a lokanta.

Hemşin pastry (Hemşin böreği)

The Hemşin people of the mountain valleys above Rize are known for their pastry-making tradition. Hemşin böreği is a sweet layered pastry made with local butter and honey - different from the standard savoury börek of the rest of Turkey. The Hemşin were famous as pastry chefs throughout the Ottoman Empire, and this food expertise inflects local production.

Where to find: Pastry shops in Çamlıhemşin and Ayder; some Rize city bakeries. ₺40–80 per piece.

Mountain honey (dağ balı)

The wildflower meadows of the Kaçkar yaylalar produce exceptional honey - dark, intensely flavoured, from bees foraging on the high-altitude flora.

Types:

• Çiçek balı (wildflower honey): General mountain honey. ₺200–400/kg
• Deli bal (mad honey): A specific honey from rhododendron nectar - contains grayanotoxin in small quantities, producing a mild intoxicating effect. Sold in limited quantities at valley markets. ₺400–800/kg for genuine deli bal. Note: consume only in very small amounts; larger quantities cause poisoning symptoms

Where to buy: Market stalls in Rize; beekeepers in mountain villages; the Ayder market.

Rize city market

The Rize market (Tuesday and Friday main markets; daily smaller market) has excellent fresh produce:

• Tea leaves (fresh and dried)
• Mountain honey (multiple types)
• Local kolot and tulum cheese
• Hazelnuts (the regional hazelnut is particularly good)
• Fresh Black Sea fish in season

Price summary

Food	Where	Cost
Tea (glass)	Çay bahçesi	₺20–35
Fresh plantation tea (50g)	Tea shop/farm	₺40–100
Mıhlama	Lokanta	₺100–160
Tava hamsi	Restaurant	₺100–150
Hemşin pastry	Bakery	₺40–80
Mountain honey	Market	₺200–400/kg
Deli bal (small jar)	Valley market	₺100–200

For restaurants, see best restaurants in Rize.

Make the most of the food scene: Book a food tour of Rize to sample the standout local spots with a guide who knows where residents actually eat. An eSIM for Turkey keeps you connected for navigating neighbourhoods and checking restaurant hours on the go.