It is advisable to buy edible souvenirs at urban and rural bazaars. For example, at the “Deserter’s Market”, the “Green Market” or any other “Central Market”. Or in supermarkets like “Carrefour”, “Liderfood”, “Goodwill”, “Nikora”, “Spar”, “Georgita”, “Populi”, ‘Agrohub’, “Smart”.
- Georgian spices
- Georgian cheeses
- Georgian sauces
- Georgian sweets
- Georgian honey
- Nuts from Georgia
- Churchkhela
- Georgian tea
- Mineral water
- Alcohol from Georgia
- Georgian Lemonade
- Other products
- FAQ
Georgian spices
Let’s start, perhaps, with local spices and sauces. The most popular sauces are considered to be ajika from peppers, tkemali from alycha, sacebeli from tomatoes, satsivi from nuts, narsharab from pomegranates. Among the frequently bought spices we will name hopli-suneli, red hot pepper, marjoram, saffron, basil, cilantro, fennel seeds, dried garlic, cumin, coriander, chaber, mint, zira, blue fenugreek. We advise you to buy universal mixtures that go well with vegetable, legume, meat, fish dishes. There is a wonderful spice store “Khurdjini” in the capital, which is located on Kote Abkhazi Street, 27. Herbs, herbs and sauces are sold here from five Georgian lari.
Georgian cheeses
Traditional cheese will follow. It could be suluguni, a briny cheese from the Svaneti region. It has a sour, moderately salty taste and smell, dense, flaky, elastic consistency. Imereti cheese is a sour-milk product with a creamy flavor, the variety from the Imereti region is considered the most common in the country. There is also gray-cream gouda cheese from the historical region of Tushetia, it is very hard and easier to break than to cut. Try also smoked suluguni, brine cheese with a layered structure “Chechili”, cheese between cottage cheese and Italian ricotta “Nadugi”, homemade cheese with herbs, spices and nuts and other varieties. For transportation, buy products in factory vacuum packaging as required by customs regulations. A kilogram of cheese varies from 10 to 20 Georgian lari.
Georgian sauces
They stand apart and are an integral part of Georgian cuisine. The most popular ones are: tkemali made of plums, sacebeli made of tomatoes, narsharab made of pomegranate. All Georgian sauces are made of natural components: fresh vegetables, spices, as well as berry and fruit juices. The producers are different, you can take any of them.
Georgian sweets
From sweets we recommend churchkhela (one churchkhela with hazelnuts costs 1.5 Georgian lari, with walnuts – 2.5 Georgian lari). You can find a homemade version at almost any market, but from the factory ones choose “Badagi” company in individual packaging. Try also tklapi – natural Georgian pastilla. It is made from mashed plums, sloe, cherry, cherry plum, and cornel without sugar and dried in the sun.
Georgian honey
How about mandarin, lime, acacia or chestnut honey? A 300 gram jar will cost 10 Georgian lari. If you prefer jam, pay attention to quince, fig, dogwood, walnut, cone or feijoa jam. In city coffee houses you should try a dessert reminiscent of sour cream “Pelamushi”, dried persimmon ‘Chiri’, sweet from grape juice “Tatara”.
Nuts from Georgia
Georgia has excellent nuts. They are worth buying as souvenirs for relatives and friends. It can be almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts. You will find the freshest and tastiest nuts in the places where they grow. These are Samegrelo region and Kakheti region. The cost of nuts in Georgia is three times lower than in Europe. Prices start from 15 Georgian lari. It is better not to transport fruits, but to enjoy them on vacation. Grapes, apricots, mulberries, muskmelons, cornel, kiwi, cherries, figs, blackberries, pears, pomegranates, strawberries, peaches, grapes – the assortment is huge.
Churchkhela
The most famous sweet. It is sold everywhere (on the street, in the market, in the store), in different colors and with different nuts. But the most delicious is Badagi’s. It is my absolute favorite. Here it is always fresh, soft, and only two natural colors, because the manufacturer does not use dyes, but only the juice of Saperavi and Rkatseteli grapes. If you buy it as a gift, you can take it in a gift box. But it is, of course, more expensive.
Georgian tea
There is excellent tea in Georgia. The most popular varieties here are recognized as: “Gurieli”, ‘Rcheuli’ and “Shemoqmedi”. Black, green, mint, barberry, blueberry and other kinds of tea are sold by weight, in factory packages and in gift tins. A good selection of brews is presented at the “Boni” market, which is located in Batumi, on Levan Kikava Street, 4; at the “Deserter’s Market” – in Tbilisi, on Mikhail Tsinamdzgvrishvili Street, 186; in Kutaisi, go to the “Green Bazaar”, which has found its place on Zakharia Paliashvili Lane 1, 2.
Mineral water from Georgia
In the resort town of Borjomi you can try the famous healing water. Here you can buy it at an attractive price – a little more than one Georgian lari per liter, while in European countries the same liter bottle will cost five times more. There are also mineral “Nabeglavi”, ‘Likani’ and “Bakuriani”.
Alcohol from Georgia
Wine and Georgia are inseparable concepts. So be sure to try it and take a bottle of Saperavi or Rkatsiteli with you. They also make excellent cognac here. Read more about drinks in our article “Alcoholic souvenirs from Georgia”.
Georgian Lemonade
Georgia is not only famous for wine, but also for its delicious lemonades. Thanks to pure water and natural ingredients for syrups it is a pleasure to drink them. There is a complete absence of chemical flavor. The most popular flavors: pear, saperavi, tarragun, lemon, barberry, feijoa, creamy famous brands Natakhtari and Zadazeni. But you can safely take other producers as well.
Other products from Georgia
Kakheti oil – very fragrant oil from Kakheti sunflowers, thick and viscous; best suited as a dressing for vegetable salads.
Tklapi pastilla – a sweet fruit pita made from the pulp of fruits and berries.
Svan salt – a mixture of salt and traditional Georgian spices, very flavorful, can be added to all dishes.
Frequent questions about souvenirs from Georgia
What are the restrictions on bringing souvenirs from Georgia?
Icons, sculptures, paintings, souvenir weapons and other items of heritage, history and art cannot be taken out so easily, for these products you need a permit from the Ministry of Culture of Georgia. Do not forget to declare jewelry and high frequency radio electronic devices or communication equipment. Customs officers will not let a passenger take more than five kilograms of plant products and more than five kilograms of animal products.
Is it possible to bargain in Georgia?
Where better than in Georgia to bargain? Talkative and good-natured sellers are just waiting for you to get into a conversation with them. The Caucasian market is a great place to show your wit, cunning and excitement. Or don’t you need two things for the price of one?
What are the opening hours of stores in Georgia?
As for the mode of operation of Georgian hypermarkets, as usual, they are open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, some stores function until 21:00. On Saturday and Sunday many of them may close earlier – after lunch, at 15:00-16:00 hours. There are also 24-hour markets. Passages operate from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, and the mode of operation of local markets and fairs: from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.
We wish you a successful shopping in Georgia and be sure to share your shopping impressions in the comments!
