Heritage of the Republic: the legend of the Azerbaijani Armuda - photo. Armudy - Turkish tea glasses

Armudu or Bogmaly is original crockery, intended for drinking tea, the tradition came to us from Azerbaijan. We are interested in cooperation with tea shops and cafes, we have a special offer for you.

Armudu or Bogmaly- this is an original utensil intended for drinking tea, the tradition came to us from Azerbaijan. "Armudu" translates as bucket-shaped or pear-shaped. The shape of Armudu's glasses is similar to the beautiful figure of an oriental woman. The middle is similar to her waist - this is the thinnest part of the glass, and the top and bottom are wide. There are many explanations for this shape of this glass: it is more convenient to hold it in your hand, it resembles a beautiful girl, etc., but in fact everything is simpler and more practical: tea at the bottom of the glass cools more slowly than on the surface, and therefore the temperature at the bottom of the glass stays high longer . In this sense armudy is truly a miracle of ancient Azerbaijani design. Aesthetic perception of the cup Armudy» subtly echoes the functional aspect, i.e. the shape and design of the dishes are necessarily subordinate to its purpose, which is very pleasant and useful.

Armudu glasses, which can be glass, crystal, porcelain, faience, silver, etc. and a samovar make up a wonderful tea set, this is the pride and property of every tea drinker. The small volume of these glasses (100 grams) does not require very much time to finish drinking all their contents, respectively. taste qualities at the same time, they are not lost, the tea remains fresh. Glasses of Armudu are not filled to the top: a place is left 1-2 cm from the top, which is often highlighted by a rim. This distance is popularly called “dodag yeri”, which literally translates as a place for lips.

You can buy armudu from us both at retail and wholesale (specify wholesale prices by phone).

Azerbaijani tea drinking is not just a part of the meal, but a real cultural tradition. Find out why it is not customary to drink from cups here, and what sweets are served with tea.

Tea drinking in Azerbaijan is a symbol of Caucasian hospitality. Regardless of whether you came for a long time or dropped in just for a minute, the hospitable hosts will offer you tea. In addition, in any cafe or restaurant in Azerbaijan, tea is always served first and only after that they set the table.

At the samovar, me and my Masha

As a rule, long leaf black tea is prepared in Azerbaijan. Sometimes they make green and Herb tea, as well as hot drinks made from cinnamon and ginger.


Brewing Azerbaijani tea is a long and unhurried procedure. After rinsing the teapot with boiling water, pour tea leaves into it and put fragrant herbs- thyme, cloves, mint and cardamom. After that, the kettle is half filled with water, heated a little, without boiling, and allowed to brew. Only after that pour boiling water to the top.

Boiling water is often poured from a samovar, and not an electric one, but a real one, on coals. Few people know about it, but the samovar has long been used in Azerbaijan. Proof of this are the ancient clay devices for boiling water, discovered by archaeologists.

A samovar, like glasses for tea, can be bought at any souvenir shop, and in the city of Lankaran there is even a monument to it.

Tea from glass cups

Even in the tiniest cafes in Azerbaijan, you will never be served tea in a mug or bag. This is regarded as bad manners and a sign of disrespect.

Tea in Azerbaijan is always served in small pear-shaped cups made of transparent glass - armuds. They can be found in any souvenir shop that sells ordinary and beautifully painted utensils. Due to the unique shape, tea in such cups cools down more slowly.

Sugar is not thrown into tea, but served separately on a special saucer. They often bring sweets and lemon. In addition, the teapot itself is always attached to the cups, from which it is customary to gradually fill the armuds. The average cost of tea is 1 manat ($1.3).

Usually fresh sweets are served with tea in Azerbaijan. But it is unlikely that you will see chocolate or waffles on the table. During Azerbaijani tea drinking eat homemade jam, nuts, Turkish delight, dried fruits and oriental pastries such as baklava.

For tea, you should definitely order sweets, the recipes of which are unique. So, Sheki baklava gently melts in your mouth, covered with a multi-layered crispy mesh of rice flour and soaked in sweet syrup. Such baklava cannot stand transportation, so you can try it only here.

In addition, an incredible variety of pastries are prepared in Azerbaijan with the addition of nuts (shakyarbura, badambura, sujuk), caramel (peshmek, peshvyang), marmalade (mutaki) and rice flour (girmabadam). At the same time, each region of Azerbaijan has its own options for preparing sweets and fillings.


real work culinary arts is Azerbaijani jam. It is made from apricot, pear, cherry, rose petals, watermelon rinds, dogwood and nuts.

Sitting in a teahouse

In any Azerbaijani city there is a teahouse. Since ancient times, this institution has served as a place for gathering people, exchanging news, making deals and talking about politics. A leisurely tea party was conducive to friendly communication, during which visitors solved their problems.


According to Eastern traditions, it was considered obscene for women to appear in a teahouse. Of course, in our days there have been changes, and here you can see not only men.

Previously, only tea and sweets were served at the table in the teahouse. Now the menu includes hot dishes and snacks. Otherwise, the culture of tea drinking and the unique atmosphere of the Azerbaijani tea house remained unchanged. As centuries ago, and now alcohol is banned.

Tea is valued and loved in Azerbaijan. The fragrant drink has been known here since the 12th century - it was at this time that the first mentions of tea are found in the poems of the great poet and thinker Nizami.

Tea is a friendly drink. In any Azerbaijani house, the first thing a guest will be offered is tea. The feast begins with tea, and it ends with it.

CHAIKHANA

In any Azerbaijani settlement there must be a teahouse. Unlike the Central Asian tea house, where you can have a hearty lunch, only tea is served in the Azerbaijani one. They can offer sweets, sweets, but not food.


Teahouse It is first and foremost a club. Mostly male. Here they discuss news, business, make plans, remember the past, and most importantly, maintain relationships. In a sense, this is an institution designed to maintain stability in society. Neighbors who quarreled during the day meet in the tea house in the evening. And here, in the circle of neighbors, friends, over a glass of tea, they can calmly discuss their problems and find a mutually acceptable way out of the situation.




Tea carrier. Baku, 1976

At oriental people there is a belief: if you dream of a teahouse, you will be a great joy.

CHAIKHANA

Salam, Baku, salam!
I am yours again.
Keep you cool in the evening,
like a teahouse with wreaths of grapes
comrades gives me peace,
and this tea...

Yes, whatever you interpret, it
trying to be in the circle of the east,
I don't drink at home
no matter how I'm going:
Baku tea
not drunk without Baku.
Silence fell over the city.
He got tired, having screamed during the day.
We talk, looking into each other's eyes,
and the tea house does not hear the voices.
And somewhere the world
serious, many-sided,
trying to open himself up again.
Here you can't hide from him at all,
and yet you can stay for an hour or two.
Almost invisible from the side
beyond the darkness of the road
as if behind a fence
drinks tea and teahouse talks,
vines twined with wreaths.

Valentin Protalin

WIDTH TEA AND THE BRIDE IS ALREADY OURS

Tea occupies a special place in the matchmaking ceremony in Azerbaijan, which is called "hyari". After all, the fate of an unmarried girl to some extent, one might say, depends on tea. In particular, how it will be - sweet or not. And this whole ceremony is very beautiful, like the rest of the wedding traditions.


The answer to the matchmakers who came to the bride is given through tea. If tea was served sweet, then this means the consent of the parents to the marriage of their children. Matchmakers can sigh with joy, saying, “the bride is already ours!”. Well, if tea was brought without sugar, then, as everyone understands, this means “diplomatic refusal”.

It looks very nice when they bring “two-color tea” to matchmakers - this is when boiling water is first added to the glass and granulated sugar(sherbet), and then tea leaves are added very slowly on top. As a result, a two-color tea is obtained - light from below, and tea leaves remain on the surface, since it is lighter than sherbet. And after “hyari” is given, tea is stirred, and new relatives congratulate each other on this joyful event.

Thus, tea is not only friendly, but also a good family drink.

Historically, long leaf black tea is produced in the country. They drink it exclusively freshly brewed, often adding thyme or, in other words, thyme. Tea with thyme is brewed one to one, and such an infusion acquires new taste and fragrance and even renders therapeutic effect. There are serving options when the thyme is brewed in a separate teapot and added to taste directly into the armudu. Sometimes they use cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, rose water. Just drinking rose water is not interesting - it has no taste, but in tea it reveals its aroma. Rose water makes not only tea fragrant, but also the air. This secret is known by experienced teahouse makers. therefore, in some teahouses in Azerbaijan, it smells like a rose garden. It is also very pleasant to rinse your hands and face with such water.

Little rose water is needed to add flavor to tea, and it is served at the table in a gulebdan, a special small jug with a beautifully curved spout. However, during crowded celebrations, such as weddings, rose water is poured in large jugs.

VPRIKUSKU

Tea is served with slightly roasted hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and dried fruits. Figs, dried apricots and raisins are traditional for Azerbaijan. Lately added exotic imported fruits and candied fruits. Raisins can be black and white, small and large, depending on the grape variety from which they are made. And figs are rolled in flour during the drying process, so its sweetness is revealed gradually.

JAM

The art of making jam in Azerbaijan has been brought to perfection. It is served in every home, and the most different. In a restaurant, listing all types of jam for tea can take a waiter several minutes: from quince, figs, watermelon peels, apricots, cherries, cherries, peaches. drain. dogwood, walnuts, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, mulberries…

TEA CEREMONIES

The samovar is also a symbol for Azerbaijan, as well as for Russia, and it is obvious that the number of samovars per capita is higher here than anywhere else. Large kettles for boiling water are also held in high esteem here. tea is poured into special glasses, armudu, or otherwise, bogmaly. Both names are associated with the shape of the vessel, which is associated with the classical female figure. The middle is like the waist - it is the narrowest part of the glass. "Bogmaly" means "cramped". And another name is translated as “pear-like”: the shape of the glass actually resembles a pear. Armudu is never filled with tea to the brim, leaving about a centimeter, this distance is called "dodag yeri" - a place for lips.


Sugar, as a rule, is consumed as a bite, so it is not customary to serve granulated sugar with tea, only kalla gand, which in Azerbaijani means “ sugar loaf". Once upon a time, the kalla gand really looked like a round head, it was cut into pieces, and then pricked with special tweezers.

Before drinking the first sip, be sure to dip the sugar into the tea. This tradition is so ancient that now few people remember how and when it originated.
And it arose in the dark times of the Middle Ages, in the khan's and shah's palaces, where intrigues and conspiracies were woven. Azerbaijani conspirators often acted in the same way as European conspirators - they poured poison on objectionable overlords. But if in Europe the poison was most often poured into a goblet of wine, then in Muslim Azerbaijan, where the drinking of alcoholic beverages was forbidden by religion, the role of wine was played by tea. And if the Europeans, in order to protect themselves from poisoning by a companion, clinked glasses so that drops of wine from one goblet splashed into another, then the Azerbaijani rulers came up with their own way of preventing poison: before drinking, they dipped sugar into tea. All poisons known in those days were of organic origin and reacted with sugar. If, when tea came into contact with a piece of sugar, a precipitate fell out, the drink became cloudy or “boiled”, tea drinking was stopped. And the investigation began, ending, as a rule, with the execution of the conspirators.

WE MAKE AZERBAIJANIAN TEA

Tea is valued in Azerbaijan for its tonic and medicinal properties. In the heat, it perfectly quenches thirst, has a positive effect on digestion, cardiovascular system, protects against dysentery.
That is why special attention is paid here correct brewing tea. Azerbaijani tea is famous for its tartness and aroma, the drink in armuds should glow, play in the light.
In the taste of properly brewed Azerbaijani tea, a slight bitterness should be felt - a sign of the presence of caffeine.
To get strong fragrant drink, you must strictly follow the rules for brewing tea established in Azerbaijan.





Tea is brewed first in small portions and definitely in porcelain teapots. Rinse the kettle before brewing boiling water. Then they put dry tea at the rate of 1.5-2 teaspoons per glass of tea and pour boiling water over about one third of the volume of the teapot. Then put the kettle on slow fire, protected by a metal plate, and leave for about 5 minutes. At the same time, the tea leaves open and give the drink all the aroma.
Then the teapot is topped up with boiling water and poured through a strainer into another, preheated teapot.
Pay attention to the color of the infusion: properly brewed Azerbaijani tea has a beautiful and bright color.
So that tea does not lose its rich and exquisite fragrance, it must not only be properly brewed, but also served.
In Azerbaijan, a glass is rinsed with boiling water and freshly prepared boiling water is poured into it by about two thirds of the volume, and only then the tea leaves are added. It is with this spill of the drink that the aroma is felt in it. essential oils. Tea is usually served with finely chopped sugar.

And here are a few branded Azerbaijani recipes tea leaves tea with cinnamon - "Darchin tea", and with ginger - "Zyanchafil tea".

For cooking "Darchin tea" cinnamon is crushed in a mortar, poured into a kettle, topped up with water and boiled for 5 minutes. The finished drink is poured through a strainer into another teapot. When serving, put sugar in a glass. The color of the tea should be orange.

"Zyanchafil tea"- ginger tea To prepare it, ginger is crushed in a mortar, put in a teapot, topped up with water and boiled for 3 to 5 minutes. When serving, put sugar in a glass and pour boiling water. The color of "Zyancafil tea" should be yellow.

Common additions are: tea + mint, thyme and kyklikadou. Sometimes they take classic black tea and add cinnamon and cloves to it and brew it. Also a common additive is oregano and mint.

HAPPY TEA DRINKING!

Perhaps it is impossible to find such an Azerbaijani who would not like tea ... Tea for Azerbaijanis, without exaggeration, main drink. Drinking tea for us is not just a pleasant pastime, but also an important "action" that accompanies us throughout our lives. And on weekdays, and on holidays, and on joyful days of matchmaking, betrothal, weddings, births of children, and for funerals and commemorations, tea is served at the table.

The Azerbaijani tea tradition, of course, is far from the spiritual practice inherent in the world-famous Chinese tea ceremony, but it is no less interesting and beautiful ritual. All steps have their own "laws": you need to know how to brew and infuse tea correctly, pour it into armuda glasses correctly, serve it correctly, drink it correctly. So, if at home, at work and at some public catering points tea in bags is still somehow appropriate (and even then not for everyone), then when meeting guests, it is necessary to serve custard ("dumly") tea.

You will have to work hard to brew real, delicious tea, but it's worth it

We'll have to work hard to brew a real one, delicious tea, but it's worth it. Usually tea is brewed in porcelain or faience teapots, glass ones are also suitable for this purpose (if there is no other), but not metal ones - they will spoil the taste of tea leaves. Teapot rinse several times with boiling water, then add dry tea and leave it for a minute or two so that the tea leaves have time to swell. Then the teapot is half filled with boiling water and covered with a clean linen napkin, so that the spout of the teapot is also closed. After a few minutes, the kettle is topped up with boiling water, allowed to brew for a few more minutes, and that's it - you can carry it to the guests.

Azerbaijani tea is always made from black loose leaf tea medium, and even better - high strength. Yes, and one more rule - do not regret tea leaves. Sometimes spices are added to tea for a special flavor: "keklikot" - thyme, "mikhei" - cloves, "khil" - cardamom. Special tea prepared from cinnamon - "Darchyn tea" and ginger - "Zyanjafil tea".

According to other "theories", the tulip bud became the prototype of the shape of the armuda, and they also say that it personifies the ideal female figure.

In Azerbaijan, it is customary to drink tea from pear-shaped transparent glass cups. They are called "armuds", precisely because they resemble a pear in shape. According to other "theories", the tulip bud became the prototype of the armuda shape, and they also say that it personifies the ideal female figure ... The shape is really elegant - it is convenient to hold the glass by the narrow "waist". However, she is not only beautiful, but also carries practical use- thanks to her, the tea at the bottom of the glass cools down more slowly, and therefore remains hot throughout the entire tea drinking. And in our understanding good tea should be not just hot, but very hot.

The color of tea is also presented special requirements. It must be strong, i.e. its color should be dark red. Such tea is usually called "purengi", "mekhmeri". Serving light tea is considered indecent.

It is considered especially chic to drink tea from crystal armuda. Glasses are served on saucers, and they are small, especially for armuds. Sometimes tea is drunk from an armuda with glass holders, but again, this can be allowed, so to speak, for every day, and if you meet guests or go to visit yourself, then you should know: tea is served that way - in glasses with saucers. And they won't "forgive" you for any newfangled armuda with a handle, and they won't offer it themselves.

Azerbaijani-style tea is drunk with crushed sugar ("kyalla gand"). Served separately with lemon wedges and different desserts for tea. Most often these are sweets, persimmons, lyab-lyabi - assorted nuts, almonds, pistachios and raisins, and different types jam: from quince, white cherries with walnut kernels, cherries, cornelian cherry, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, walnuts, rose petals, etc. In a word, Azerbaijani tea table they are richly served, so that even the most demanding gourmet will be satisfied.

The Azerbaijani tea table is richly laid, so that even the most demanding gourmet will be satisfied

Tea can also be called a ritual drink of Azerbaijanis. As I said, not a single important event in life is complete without this fragrant, tart, hot drink.

If you come to visit an Azerbaijani family, the first thing you will be treated to is tea. After lunch or dinner, the hospitable host will again say to the hostess: "tea gyalsin" - "let tea come." And again you will enjoy the taste and aroma of real Azerbaijani tea. Even if you visit your neighbors for a moment, the Azerbaijanis will not only offer tea for the sake of decency, but will also persuade you to stay for tea. This is a gesture of our hospitality. If the Azerbaijani did not even offer tea, this means that he does not want to see you in his house.

Not a single matchmaking in Azerbaijan is also complete without tea. If the girl's parents agree to the marriage, then the matchmakers are served "width tea" - sweet tea. If the answer is negative, then the matchmakers are waiting for ordinary tea with a bite. Those. this means - no offense, you are our dear guests, but we do not agree to be related to you.

Azerbaijanis drink tea always and everywhere, on occasion and just like that, observing conventions and without any ceremonies. This drink warms well in the cold and perfectly quenches thirst in the heat.

The song sings - in the East, what kind of life is there without a teahouse ... And so it is.

A tea house or, as it is now customary to call it, "chai evi" - a tea house, is found in any Azerbaijani city, town, village. Only tea and what is supposed to go with it are served here. If you want to have a bite - look for a cafe or restaurant.

The teahouse is a kind of men's club. Of course, women also visit here, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Men have unhurried conversations, discuss their affairs and plans, meet friends over a glass of tea.

Azerbaijanis especially "respect" tea from a samovar - "chayy samovar". Its taste and aroma is simply incomparable. If tea brewed in the usual way, you can drink a couple of glasses at most, then you can drink a "samovar of tea" ... a whole samovar. Mmmm ... Something I wanted tea. Probably you too...

As we say - "Gyalsin tea". Happy tea drinking!

From the history of Azerbaijani tea

Azerbaijani tea is one of the varieties of tea culture that grows on the territory of the republic. Azerbaijani tea appeared relatively recently - in the 19th century with light hand M. O. Noveselov, who planted the first tea bushes in the Lankaran region. Four years later, the first tea plantations appeared in Azerbaijan, which, to the great regret of biologists and tea lovers, could not take root and died in 1920. But botanists were not going to give up at all and planted tea plants in Azerbaijan again and again. In the end, the efforts of hardworking agronomists and scientists were crowned with success. In 1932, on the site of the first experimental plantings - in the Lankaran region - tea plantations were created, which soon gave a good harvest. They decided to plant tea bushes in the Zakatala region, where the plants also took root well.

At first, the production volumes of Azerbaijani tea were rather modest, but every year more and more samples were supplied to the market. fragrant drink. Gourmets highly appreciated the flavor characteristics of Azerbaijani tea, so the decision to give new territories of Azerbaijan for plantations was a reasonable decision. In 1982, the production of Azerbaijani tea was carried out on a global scale, because by that time the product was supplied to such countries as the GDR, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Syria, Mongolia, Iran, and so on. Many wanted to buy Azerbaijani tea in those years, so the volume of the drink produced in 1988 amounted to 38.5 thousand tons. By the way, Azerbaijani tea accounted for about 70% of all tea in the USSR, taking into account the fact that a huge part of it was supplied abroad.

But soon hard times came for Azerbaijani tea: with the collapse of Soviet Union many factories for the production of the drink were closed, so in the early 90s of the last century it was almost not produced. Only by the beginning of this century there were changes for the better: in 2004, a large-scale campaign for the socio-economic development of the regions of Azerbaijan was launched, during which it was planned to establish tea production. The return of Azerbaijani tea to its former positions was also facilitated by the cooperation of local tea producers with enterprises from the UAE and Turkey.

Nowadays, Azerbaijani tea is exported mainly to Russia - about 8,000 tons of the product is sold within our country. In addition, Azerbaijani tea is supplied to Georgia, Dagestan and Turkey, and domestic market the rest of the tea production is sold. Tea in Azerbaijan is still cultivated in the Lankaran region. In addition to this area, it is grown in Belokan, Astara, Massalinsky, Zakatala and Lerik regions.

Features of the preparation and use of Azerbaijani tea

Many connoisseurs agree that, in terms of its characteristics, Azerbaijani tea is in many ways similar to Chinese varieties fragrant drink. The taste of Azerbaijani tea is harmonious and even, and the aroma is quite soft, but rich. The color of the drink can tell a lot about its bouquet - brewed Azerbaijani tea should not be pale. In the homeland of the drink, the color of tea is compared with the feathers of a red rooster, so the rich shade of the delicacy is a guarantee of its noble taste.

In Azerbaijan, it is customary to brew tea very strong, while it is not diluted with water. To many of us, such a drink may seem tart and bitter, as we are used to less concentrated tea.

To brew tea in Azerbaijan, teapots with a volume of 0.5 and 1 liter are used. Often aromatic herbs are added to the product: sage, mint, thyme, etc. To give the drink spicy notes, they put a small amount of spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger or cardamom.

Brewing Azerbaijani tea is a whole science, because it is this process that determines what the taste will be like. ready drink. The teapot should be dry and warm - to do this, you can rinse it with boiling water and then wipe it. Tea leaves are poured into the dishes at the rate of 2 tsp. tea raw materials in a glass of liquid and pour boiling water. After that, the kettle is put on fire, where it will spend 5-10 minutes, but do not bring it to a boil. All this time, tea should languish on fire.

Azerbaijani tea is traditionally drunk hot, even scalding, and in order not to burn your hands, tasters use special utensils - saucers and cup holders. By the way, Azerbaijanis drink tea from nothing — the drink is poured into beautiful glasses, which are called armuds. They are tulip-shaped and ideal for tasting hot drinks. In the middle of the armud, the liquid remains hot for a long time, while the upper part of the dish cools quickly, so hold the glass by the edges that do not burn your fingers. Traditional armuds are made of glass resistant to high temperatures.

Armud is an integral part of the Azerbaijani tea culture, and Azerbaijanis simply cannot imagine tea drinking without it. In Lankaran there is even a monument to an armud glass and a samovar, so if you ever happen to visit Azerbaijan, be sure to see this sight.

Many connoisseurs of the aromatic drink want to buy Azerbaijani tea, and if you are one of them, then be sure to purchase this wonderful product. Your loved ones will definitely like Azerbaijani tea, and you will enjoy the taste of this tea more than once. noble drink in the family. Have a nice holiday!