Borjomi (water)
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{{Infobox Beverage |name=Borjomi
ბორჯომი
ბორჯომი
[[file:Glass bottom of a bottle Borjomi ]
}}
Borjomi (Georgian: ბორჯომი) is a brand of naturally carbonated mineral water from springs in the Borjomi Gorge of central Georgia. The artesian springs in the valley are fed by water that filters from glaciers covering the peaks of the Bakuriani mountains
at altitudes of up to 2,300 m (7,500 ft). The water rises to the
surface without pumping and is transported by pipes to two bottling
plants in the town of Borjomi.[1][2]
The Borjomi springs were discovered by the Imperial Russian
military in the 1820s. They were made famous throughout the Russian
Empire, making Borjomi a popular tourist destination. The history of the
brand is closely associated with the Russian imperial dynasty of Romanov. By the 1890s, Borjomi was bottled in the Georgian estates of Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and subsequent Soviet takeover of Georgia, the Borjomi enterprise was nationalized and the water was made into a top Soviet export.[1]
Borjomi is Georgia's third largest export and is exported to over 40 countries.[1] Since 1995, Borjomi has been trademarked and produced by the Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Company (GG&MW).[3] The use of Borjomi water has been suggested by the Georgian and Russian researchers for complex treatment of several digestive diseases and diabetes mellitus.[4][5] [6][7]
Contents |
History
The mineral springs of the Borjomi valley were discovered over one thousand years ago.[1]
Seven large rock tubs discovered by archeologists dating back to the
beginning of the 7th century attest to the availability and use of the
spring waters, most likely for bathing purposes.[1] The springs were abandoned before being rediscovered in the early 19th century.[1]
By that time, as a result of the incessant warfare, Borjomi and its
environs had been depopulated and covered with impassable forests.[8]
In 1829, when the Imperial Russian Army Kherson Grenadier Regiment was deployed in Borjomi for operations against the Ottoman Empire,
Russian soldiers found mineral springs on the right bank of Borjomi
river. Intrigued by the find, Colonel Pavel Popov, the commander of the
regiment, ordered that the springs be cleaned and that the water be
bottled and transported to the military base. Popov, who suffered from
stomach disease tried the water first. Seeing positive results, he
ordered the construction of rock walls around the spring and he had a
bath house built nearby, along with a small cottage house for himself.[1]
In 1837, when the Kherson regiment was replaced by the Georgian
grenadiers regiment, its medical doctor Amirov examined the water
components and their effects, sending the first results of analysis to Saint Petersburg and Moscow.[1] By 1841, the healing effects of Borjomi water were so famous that the viceroy of the Russian Tsar in the Caucasus
Yevgeni Golovin brought his sick daughter to the springs for treatment.
In light of the quick results of the treatment, he called the first
spring Yekaterinsky (Russian: Екатерининский) after his daughter Yekaterina and the second Yevgeniyevsky (Евгеньевский) after himself.[1]
Golovin also expedited the official transfer of the waters from the military to civil authorities.[9] In 1850, a mineral water park
was opened in Borjomi and in 1854, the authorities commissioned
construction of the first bottling plant. Borjomi water gained
popularity for its curing effects all over the Russian Empire
and the government began building palaces, parks, public gardens and
hotels to accommodate incoming tourists and patients. The commute from Tiflis to Borjomi usually took 8–9 hours by phaetons, however the new Mikhaylovo-Borjomi railroad built in 1894 significantly reduced the length of the journey. Renowned figures such as Anton Chekhov, Pyotr Tchaikovsky as well as members of the royal Russian family were among the common visitors of the springs.[10] By that time, Borjomi was a rival of similar European spas, such as Vichy, frequented by Russian tourists, the fact that earned for Borjomi the reputation of "the Russian Vichy"[9][11] and "the pearl of the Caucasus".[12][13]
In 1894, Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov
built a bottling plant in the Borjomi park which continued to operate
until the 1950s. The income from the Borjomi waters enterprise
contributed to the wealth of Mikhail's son and successor Nikolay,
who was the richest of all Russian grand dukes by 1914.In 1890 was
built the first bottling plant of Borjomi. Demand on the glass bottles
were high and A glass factory
was built in 1896. According to archives, in 1854 only 1350 bottles of
water were produced, in 1905 the number reached 320,000 and by 1913 over
9 million bottles were sold. After the establishment of Soviet rule in
Georgia, Borjomi was widely sold around the Soviet Union and was favored by Soviet leaders such as Joseph Stalin.[1][14]
Exploration of the Borjomi Gorge was conducted in 1927. Between then
and 1982, 57 exploration wells (depths ranging from 18.4 m (60 ft) to
1,502 m (4,928 ft)) were drilled.[15] In 1961, 423,000 bottles of Borjomi was exported to 15 countries including the United States, France and Austria.[1] During the existence of the Soviet Union, Borjomi was recognized as the third best known brand of the USSR after the Volga car and Aeroflot airlines.[16] In the 1980s, annual production of Borjomi water reached 400 million bottles.[1]
The production slowed down with the collapse of the Soviet Union and
economic stagnation in the independent Republic of Georgia. In 1995,
bottling of Borjomi was restarted by the Georgian Glass and Mineral
Waters Company (GG&MW), which increased the production forty-fold.[1] According to the company, 80% of Borjomi produced that year was exported abroad—more than half of this amount to Russia.[17]
Despite counterfeit drinks being produced under the Borjomi label as a
result of rising piracy during the 1990s, Borjomi water was able to
reclaim its reputation by 2000 in a distinctive packaging campaign. The
piracy also slowed down due to the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[16]
In May 2006, Russia banned
imports of the Georgian mineral waters, declaring them unsafe. Georgia
viewed this as an attempt to restrict access to the Russian market and
making Borjomi a pawn in post-Soviet political power play.[18][19][20] As a result of the ban, GG&MW lost GEL
25 million in 2006, but the company declared the crisis to have been
overcome by 2008, with sales volumes reaching pre-2006 level. The sales
and export of Borjomi mineral water dropped again by 30-40% starting
from October 2008 due to the global financial crisis.[3]But
already in 2010 company declared that sales figures of well- known
brand Borjomi were the same as the company has before ban. In 2011 sales
company sold 15% more Borjomi than they were selling before ban. Today
Borjomi is sold in 40 countries worldwide. Today Borjomi in post-soviet
countries is a number one brand in imported mineral water brand segment.
Features
Borjomi is a water of volcanic origin which is over 1,500 years old.
It is pushed up to the surface from 1500m below ground by natural carbon dioxide pressure. Borjomi does not cool down before it reaches the surface and comes out at a temperature of 38–41 °C (100–106 °F).[21] The Borjomi springs are located in the central part of the Adjara-Imereti mountain range of Greater Caucasus
at an altitude of 760–920 m (2,490–3,020 ft) above sea level. The
average depth of each of the nine spring wells is 1,200–1,500 m
(3,900–4,900 ft).[15]
In order to preserve the mineral composition of the springs, in 2006 the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources
approved a production plan for 2006–2031 estimating 561,000 litres per
day which allows bottling of over 1 million bottles a day using 10 wells
in Borjomi Gorge. The wells are located in 3 exploitation lots: Central
(in the vicinity of Borjomi town), Likani (in Likani village) and Vashlovani-Kvibisi (in villages Vashlovani and Kvibisi).[15]
The water received from the wells travels by a 25 km (16 mi) stainless
steel pipeline to two bottling plants where it is cooled and bottled.
The first plant specializes in glass bottling, the second in PET bottling.[21]
The production of mineral water and the associated tourist economy in Borjomi and the nearby Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park make up 10 percent of Georgia's export trade. Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil pipeline near the Borjomi has been controversial because of
potential negative environmental and economic impacts on the region.[22]
Packaging
Borjomi comes in glass bottle sizes of 0.33 and 0.5 litres and plastic bottle sizes of 0.5 litre and 1 litres. Both types of bottles are screw-capped. The signature greenish color of the glass bottles (so-called Georgian Green)
is based on a proprietary formula. In February 2011, new packaging of
Borjomi water presenting a new and more sophisticated modern look was
introduced, accentuating relief of the deer image and sign of the
manufacturer on the label. More than 40 countries, including Ukraine,
Israel, the United States, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus,
Canada, Austria, Turkey, Japan, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece,
Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South
Korea, will get Borjomi in newly designed bottles.[23]
Awards
- 1907 SPA Grand Prix
- 1909 Kazan Grand Golden Medal
- 1911 Dresden Diploma of Honour
- 1940 Tallinn Golden Medal
- 1975 Budapest Diploma of Honour, World Exhibition
- 1998 Novosibirsk Golden Medal
- 1996, 1997, 1998 St.Petersburg Golden Medal
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