Russian tea drinking, how tea traditions were born. Tea from a Saucer: A Journey of a Tradition

Although Russian tea party suggests an atmosphere of calm and relaxation, it also has certain rules that must be followed so as not to look like a complete ignoramus.

What not to do while drinking tea

Man blowing on a cup with hot tea, or drinking it from a spoon demonstrates a manifestation of bad taste. If the tea is too hot, then just wait a bit for it to cool down.

Long ago merchants drank tea from a saucer. Such tea cooled much faster than in a cup. However, now this way tea drinking unacceptable.

If the cup from which tea is drunk is on a saucer, then the teaspoon should not be left in the cup itself. She is placed on a saucer.

Sometimes we notice people who, holding a cup by the handle, stick out their little fingers. According to the rules of tea drinking, this manner is not allowed.

tea cup should be brought to the mouth, and not leaned towards it.

It is undesirable to sip tea loudly.

How to drink tea

According to the rules of etiquette, it is impossible to leave traces of fatty foods and lipstick on the cup. To avoid an incident, you just need to put a napkin on your lips. Thus, you will remove all the excesses on the lips, and the edges of your tea cup stay clean.

Biscuits should be eaten with a teaspoon. They are quite soft, a spoon will easily break off the desired piece. But it is completely unsuitable if a sand or puff cake is served with tea. The position is corrected by the knife. With the help of it and a fork, these creations of confectioners are eaten. The same appliances are needed to eat sweet pie with any filling. A fork and knife will allow you to cut off the desired size piece.

A spoon is also suitable for cakes.

Tradition drink tea with sugar refined sugar has been preserved since the last century. Many people still put a vase with pieces of sugar on the table (perhaps this is a manifestation of some kind of “cultural memory”). To take required amount sugar, special tweezers are used.

This is interesting

The guest, in order to show the hosts that he had already drunk enough tea, turned the tea cup or glass upside down. Under the influence of Western culture, later this side of tea drinking began to look different. The guest simply put a teaspoon into an empty cup.

Time has changed the rules tea drinking. Something remains from past centuries, and something was brought with them by representatives of other peoples. But the fact that Russian tea party does not pass in silence - this is an indisputable fact.

In China, tea is drunk from small cups that do not have handles, which are called bowls. It is traditionally believed that the size of the bowl allows you to more subtly capture the taste of the drink and enjoy its aroma. However, the appearance of bowls was not due to the desire for aesthetics. It’s just that such dishes are more convenient to use, since round objects can be stacked into each other and stored and transported without any problems. In addition, tea poured into a large container cools down much faster.

IN northern countries cold weather led to the formation of their own traditions. In particular, in order not to burn yourself and quickly drink delicious hot drink started using saucers.

This tradition appeared in our country in the XVIII century. By that time, tea had become quite common and samovars appeared in everyday life. They could heat up. a large number of water, which cooled very slowly, so it was hot to drink freshly prepared tea, and they began to pour it into a cup, and then into a saucer, where it cooled in a matter of minutes.

The saucer was held with three fingers and gently brought to the lips, holding a piece of sugar in the teeth. After that, the drink was drawn in with the air, and it turned out to be tasty, sweet and very aromatic at the same time. Not without reason already in early XIX centuries, this way of drinking tea was popular with all segments of the population.

However, the very tradition of drinking tea from a saucer appeared much earlier and not in Russia, but in England. It was there that the tea pair was first invented. Until that moment, Chinese porcelain bowls were considered popular. Practical Europeans improved the dishes by adding handles to them so that they could hold bowls in their hands for a long time. In order for the tea to cool faster, small saucers were added to them. The British liked this technique so much that it soon began to spread throughout the world and a hundred years later it was known throughout Europe and beyond.

The term “globalization” had not yet been coined, and goods were already roaming the world, bringing borrowed tastes, habits, and manners to every culture. So foreign tea has infiltrated Russian life imperceptibly and unobtrusively. The exact date of its appearance in Rus' remains in question. One gets the impression that samovars have been boiling in huts since time immemorial, and tea drinking has always been an original Russian tradition.

In the time of Ivan the Terrible, tea was known only by hearsay. The first to report unusual drink, Russian ambassadors, Cossack atamans Yalyshev and Petrov, who returned in 1567 from a Russian trip to the Chinese Empire, are considered. However, historians have found evidence that a hundred years earlier, in the middle of the 15th century, during the reign of Ivan III, Eastern merchants were already bringing tea to Russia.

In 1618, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov received a royal gift from the Mongolian Altyn Khan - four pounds of tea leaves. The drink did not impress the court, and ordinary Muscovites felt nothing for tea, except for curiosity.

The second tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Alexei Mikhailovich, had problems with digestion, and the healers sold him tea. The result delighted everyone, life force» tea drink was highly appreciated. IN medicinal prescriptions of that time, tea figured as a medicinal ingredient, and this was its main use.

Soon trade agreements were signed with China, and tea became a subject of exchange, most often for valuable furs. The quantity of goods was then measured in camels, and the product was transported in cybics.

Cybik - a package or box lined with raw leather and filled with dry tea weighing about 40 kg.

Superficial acquaintance of Russians with fragrant drink turned into true love thanks to Catherine II, who herself had a weakness for overseas potions. Were seen invigorating properties, his taste was appreciated, and communication with tea began to bring pleasure.

During the reign of Catherine II, six thousand “loaded camels” of tea leaves were consumed per year. The Empress personally supervised the tea caravans and the production of tableware at the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Under her rule, Moscow quickly turned into the tea capital of Russia.

It took more than six months for a convoy of horse-drawn carts to travel across Russia's vast expanses from China through all of Siberia and further to Moscow. Therefore, tea was a very long-awaited, expensive and inaccessible product for the common people.

During the reign of the Romanovs in the 17th century, royal receptions were held with tea drinking. Boyars and wealthy merchants drank it, who, moreover, seized on the "tea business" and began to make a fortune on it. It wasn't until the next century that tea spread to the nobility and middle class merchants.

In Russia, there was a tendency for him to replace traditional Russian drinks (sbiten, honey), which had sweet taste. This is probably why women did not like it because of the bitterness, especially since it was originally drunk without sugar. Strong tea was considered a man's drink.

In the second half of the 19th century, Indian and Ceylon varieties also began to be imported through the port of Odessa, and railways joined the transportation. Behind a short time tea has become available product, and towards the end of the 19th century, all the estates of tsarist Russia drank it. At the same time, low-grade cheap varieties appeared on the market.

How different classes drank tea

Tea gradually descended along the hierarchical levels of society to the very bottom. Each layer of the population tried to imitate the higher ones, but due to limited opportunities, they brought something of their own and adjusted tea ritual under yourself.

Refined aristocrats copied the English in many ways - impeccable table setting, beautiful tableware, milkman. Here they used expensive Chinese tea rare varieties, which was brought dry and brewed already at the table.

The nobles initially, before the advent of porcelain tea utensils, drank it from carved glasses in glass holders. An integral part of the tea party was communication, in fact, for this purpose, the company gathered at the tea table.

Merchants and wealthy landowners flaunted their prosperity and measured their wallets. The tea ceremony was a great opportunity to stand out, so it was furnished with all the pomp and attributes of abundance: a samovar, various jams, honey, a variety of sweet and salty pastries.

Tea drinking lasted long and thoroughly, the cups were filled many times. They drank tea from a saucer. Considering the amount drunk, the tea leaves were made very strong so that they lasted for a long time, and they diluted it in cups with boiling water. Varieties used such that give a rich dark color.

The philistines - officials, shopkeepers, innkeepers and city dwellers - imitated the rich estates, and gathered for tea like aristocrats. Lacking financial resources, they still tried to lay a plentiful table in the merchant's manner.

Tea was expensive, so they took the cheapest variety and diluted it to a translucent state. Appetizers were simple. Gatherings were accompanied not only by conversations, but also by songs, often performed with a guitar.

It is believed that Russian urban romance with a guitar arose and took shape in a musical genre during the time of petty-bourgeois tea parties. With a simple and small tool, it was convenient to sit at the table.

Its own culture of tea drinking developed in tsarist Russia in public catering. In taverns, tea was served in two teapots, which were placed one on top of the other and were a prototype of a samovar: boiling water in the lower one, tea leaves in the upper one. The visitor made his own drink desired fortress. Tea was drunk from glasses, which were also used for alcohol.

The tea room usually consisted of two rooms. In one there were large tables on which a samovar and teapot were displayed. Tea was diluted to taste and drank with snacks. In another hall, business issues were resolved, meetings were held and documents were drawn up.

Characteristic features of Russian tea drinking

For some reason, Russians are more fond of black tea. "Tea drinking" has become synonymous with soulful conversation, a sign of hospitality and an obligatory final stage of the feast. English stiffness and compulsion, Japanese and Chinese subtlety of the tea ceremony in Russia did not take root. Here, the formalized order of tea drinking was completely swept aside.

The Russian soul requires scope, openness and sincerity. Tea traditions in Russia are inseparable from detailed conversations on any pressing topic. Tea is drunk as many times as you like, more often in winter than in the warm season. Sweets are necessarily attached to it - jam, pastries, honey, sweets.

For guests in many houses there are festive services: table and tea. IN Soviet time such special dishes were an indicator of well-being and status in society. All housewives, in order to somehow join the elite, dreamed of a mother-of-pearl Madonna service.

Festive table

Two stages of the Russian feast always remain unchanged: main dishes with alcoholic drinks and tea with desserts. During the table change, the guests, exhausted from a hearty meal, go out to smoke and powder their noses, and tune in for a leisurely tea party and frank conversations. Strong tea promotes digestion and invigorates.

Such a continuation of the feast saves from the consequences of overeating and excessive intoxication. Table setting and the method of brewing tea depend on the hostess. Candies, honey, sugar, jam, lemon slices, pastries or cake, milk / cream in the milk jug are exhibited.

Special "sweet table"

So it is customary to call an economical kind of feast, cut down to tea drinking. It is used for various reasons: the organizers want to quickly celebrate some event without etiquette formalities, there is little time for communication, circumstances do not allow setting a full table, and so on. Often in such cases, they take tea bags and minimum set sweets in disposable utensils or pooling the table.

at home

Russians drink tea several times a day, at home and at work: as a "third" after the main meal or separately, with or without dessert. Usually, both at home and in the office, everyone has their own favorite cup. Often drink it in front of the TV.

Lovers add to tea brewing fragrant herbs or spices. If tea is prepared for the whole family, it is infused in a teapot and diluted with boiling water in cups. Boiling water is added to the teapot 1-2 times as it is empty.

Unexpected guests

Treating with tea is a common sign of hospitality, even if a person did not come to visit, but for some reason. Especially in cold weather, it is a sacred thing to offer a cup of tea to a chilled visitor. There are no set rules here.

If desired, the host can keep the guest company or offer some sweets, but he may not do this. This tradition is also followed in offices, depending on how much time the visitor spends there.

Tea drinking in Russian is very democratic - each house has its own traditions and recipes. Tea is brewed different ways. All of them are extremely simple. Main Feature there was and still is “double-tea” brewing and good heating.

1. The happy owners of the samovar put a large teapot. As the water warmed up in the samovar, a vessel with tea warmed up. The drink was poured into glasses without diluting, and drank with sweets.
2. If there is no samovar, then a “tea pair” was made from a teapot and teapot. Tea leaf poured boiling water in a teapot and warmed for infusion. For him, they often sewed a beautiful special heating pad - a “woman”. Such tea was served undiluted, with a bite of sweets.
3. The third way, perhaps the simplest, economical and popular in Soviet times: they made a very strong infusion in a teapot, poured a little into cups, and topped up hot water.

Tea must be given its due - it has gained such popularity that it has completely replaced traditional Russian drinks from everyday life. At the same time, I didn’t even have to invent dishes. Russian sbiten has always been prepared in a samovar, which in composition resembles non-alcoholic mulled wine.

Sbiten: From molasses mixed with spices (St. John's wort, Bell pepper, Bay leaf, sage, ginger, nutmeg) prepare a very thick dark red decoction and pour into jars. The viscous liquid is diluted with water as needed and sugar is added.

Mors and mead were also popular drinks. With the advent of tea, the samovar was "retrained" for "tea making".

Popular types

Tea gourmets in Russia appeared immediately. Very rare came into the country elite varieties Chinese tea, including yellow imperial and expensive representatives of black "flower".

There were several hundred Chinese shops in Moscow, where the choice of green and black was very rich. Muscovites fell in love with green teas "Imperial Langsing" and "Pearl Selected", yellow "Yunfacho with flowers" and white varieties"Silver Needles". The northern capital preferred discriminating taste flower varieties.

In big cities, the choice of tea was easier. The people of the countryside did not understand elite drinks and were not puzzled by varieties and quality. Firstly, not the best and cheapest varieties went on sale, and secondly, due to high prices, the peasants preferred to prepare fees instead of them:

• "koporsky" from dried herb Ivan-tea;
• "Wooden" from the leaves and bark of trees (birch, oak, ash);
• herbal preparations;
• from the leaves and fruits of fruit trees and berry bushes.

Unscrupulous businessmen, ready for any tricks to play on the popularity of the product and benefit, took advantage of such a rich assortment alternative drinks. This is how counterfeit teas appeared.

They had to look like real ones, so home-made collections were processed with dyes, often poisonous, mixed with non-natural additives and passed off as natural product. The worst kind of such activity was the manipulation of sleeping tea leaves, which was going to tea establishments. The government has developed a suppression scheme and a system of punishments for counterfeit dealers.

Thanks to folk ingenuity, many recipes for alternative drinks have been tried. Some of them are so liked that they became popular. So the concept of "herbal tea" entered Russian everyday life.

stereotypes

The traditions of Russian tea drinking have developed their own clichés that influence its assessment. Non-existent forms and facts are attributed to him, but:

• The samovar is not a Russian invention, but has been used for a very long time, first for sbiten, then for tea.
• Saucer - drinking from it is considered vulgar. But who has tried, he knows - it really tastes better. So it was accepted in the merchant, and later the philistine environment.
• A glass with a cup holder is a tea exhibit, a tribute to the times, the echoes of which remain in Russian trains. But still good tea great in a glass. Especially if you look at the light.
• A woman on a teapot - a toy with wide skirts can be replaced by a funny chicken or colorful rooster with outstretched wings. In extreme cases, the master's hat will do. As long as the tea doesn't freeze.
• Brewing - why not, so as not to mess around with endless brewing in the midst of a conversation.

Tea is a versatile drink that saturates, invigorates and soothes at the same time. It is pleasant with him in the company and alone. And even reading about him is good over tea.

photo: depositphotos.com/island, Forewer

The rules of etiquette say that the question of raising the cup during tea drinking is decided depending on how far the guests are from the table. If the drink is served beyond, you do not need to lift the saucer, just lift the cup and bring it to your mouth. In the event that tea is served on a low coffee table, the plate together with the cup must be raised with the left hand to chest level and kept in this position until the end of tea drinking. With his right hand, the guest carefully takes the cup, takes one or two sips and puts it back.

The custom of raising a tea pair causes so much controversy because in films describing the aristocratic life of the 19th century, ladies drink tea while drinking tea, holding the dishes at chest level. This is understandable: the aristocrats at that time wore tight corsets that did not allow them to lean towards the table, so the rules of etiquette allowed women to raise the saucer so as not to spill themselves. Today this custom is outdated, and women drink tea just like men.

Exist special rules behavior at the table if tea is served with lemon. A piece of lemon is picked up from the cup with a spoon, carefully taken with the fingertips and placed on the saucer that was served with the cup. After that, the spoon is put back, the cup is turned with the handle to the right, and tea drinking continues.

Under no circumstances should you drink a drink from a saucer. Even 100 years ago, the use of tea from a saucer was considered normal among representatives of the petty-bourgeois and merchant class. Since there are no estates today, behavior only indicates a low level of culture and ignorance of the rules of etiquette.

Coffee etiquette rules

When drinking coffee, the same rules apply as when drinking tea: if it’s hard to get to the table, the saucer can be raised to chest level. In addition to the drink itself, cream, sugar in a sugar bowl, milk are served on the table. Coffee with milk or cream, as well as coffee-glaze, are served in tea or special cups on tea plates. These plates are not supposed to be lifted with a cup.

When serving on a table covered with a tablecloth, saucers are first placed, and cups are placed on them. The spoon is also placed on the saucer. After stirring the sugar, the guest can put the spoon either on the plate in the same “position”, or turn it over with a “springboard” and put it so that the upper part touches the saucer, and the lower part rests on the table.

Tea came to Russia earlier than to Europe, but later than to the East. In the 16th century small quantities tea was brought to Rus' in the form expensive gifts from Asian envoys. The exact date of Chinese tea getting to the Russian Tsar is known - this is 1567. Two Cossack chieftains Petrov and Yalyshev, who visited China, tried and described this drink, and also brought a box with expensive yellow tea. In 1638, the Russian ambassador Vasily Starkov brought 64 kg of tea as a gift to the Tsar from the Mongol Khan. In 1665, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was treated with tea. Over time, tea reached Siberia, and explorers of the eastern part of the Russian Empire discovered the widespread use of tea there. By the 17th century, tea in Russia was drunk by the boyars and their entourage, it was served at royal receptions and in the homes of wealthy merchants. In the 18th century, nobles and wealthy merchants were added to these categories, and by the 19th century, tea had spread everywhere.

Initially, tea came to Russia by land from China and neighboring countries. Later, with the opening of the Suez Canal, tea began to be delivered by sea. Our ancestors knew only green and yellow tea drank it without sugar. Perhaps that is why for a long time women did not drink tea. The bitter taste of the drink was unusual in comparison with traditional Russian drinks (sbiten, honey), which had a sweetish taste.

The tradition of Russian tea drinking is one of the most difficult to describe. Over the past 150 years, there have been so many changes in society and way of life that it is no longer clear what is considered the main thing in the Russian tradition of drinking tea. For foreigners, a strange Russian samovar, previously used to make sbitnya, is considered a symbol of Russian tea drinking.
A samovar, drinking from saucers, a glass in a silver cup holder - these are just external features that are available to us from the descriptions of the classics and from the paintings of famous artists of the past. It is necessary to separate the technical side of preparation from the inner, spiritual essence of tea drinking in Russian. Tea in Russia has long been an occasion for a long leisurely and good-natured conversation, a way of reconciliation and solving business issues. The main thing in Russian tea drinking (except tea) is communication. A lot of tea, treats and a pleasant company - these are the components of tea in Russian. Contemporary Russian feast often costs two parts: food and alcohol, and tea with sweets. So, more often it is in the tea (and not in the alcoholic) part that conversations are held, guests indulge in pleasant memories, and there are interesting ideas. The hostess only has time to warm the water, and the tea flows like water and the finished sweets are not an obstacle to its continuation. This tradition also has a practical meaning. Unsweetened tea after some time after a heavy meal helps digestion, and the guest gets up from the table refreshed and cheerful.

Technically, the brewing process exists in 3 versions. The first one is the most “Russian”: water is heated in a samovar, tea is brewed in a large teapot, which is placed on the crown (upper part) of the samovar and poured into cups without adding water or sugar. Sweets are accepted in this method as a bite. The large volume of the teapot and the heating of all dishes in each stage are important here. Tea does not like coolness - it loves heat. In the second method, the samovar is replaced by a teapot, and the teapot is covered with a special tea heater so that the heat does not escape - almost the same as in the English tradition. Tea is not diluted with water, and sweets are eaten as a bite. There is a third way, which has its roots in the poor Soviet era. Tea is brewed strong, and this tea is poured into cups, into which hot water. The same procedure is sometimes carried out with the participation of a samovar instead of a kettle.

It is customary to drink tea in Russian when there is at least half an hour of free time. It is not customary to intercept a cup of tea and run further on business. It is not customary to remain silent at the table, as is done in Japanese or Chinese ceremony and to be too ceremonious and play a "tea show", as they do in England. Silence at the samovar is regarded as a sign of deep disrespect for the owners of the house. For the "Russian tea ceremony" it is customary to use red (in the European classification - black) Ceylon, Indian or Chinese tea. Greens are not suitable for such a tea party.

The Russian tea tradition has its own well-established stereotypes, which, one way or another, influence the perception of tea by the Russians themselves or the guests of the country.

Stereotype one: tea and samovar. The samovar was invented for tea, and only with a samovar is real Russian tea drinking possible.
However, the samovar is far from being a Russian invention. Its principle has been used in Ancient Rome, where hot stones were placed in a container of water for heating. Later, the samovar entered Europe and was used to heat water. It is known that Peter the Great, among other curiosities, brought from Holland a device resembling a modern samovar. Later, Russian craftsmen made their own version of the device, giving it a sonorous Russian name, and from the end of the 18th century, samovars began to be made in Tula and the Urals. Thus, the samovar "Russified" and was adapted to our needs - first for making sbitnya, and then water for brewing tea. I must say that the widespread use of samovars began only in the 19th century.

Stereotype two: Russians drink tea from a saucer or from a glass in a glass holder. Both certainly existed, but were optional. From a saucer they could drink tea in a narrow circle of friends or relatives, because in society such behavior was considered vulgar. Also, people from the merchant environment liked to drink from the saucer, who did not accept European “rules of decency”, considering them stiff and far-fetched, and offered their own rules with which guests felt more comfortable at the table. Later, this tradition was “tried on” by the townspeople, copying different variants tea parties and mixing them together.

Stereotype three: for making tea, brewing is done, and then diluted in a cup with boiling water. This custom appeared in the post-revolutionary years, when there was plenty of “lordly” tea, and few knew how to brew it correctly. In an era of scarcity, tea was diluted with water to save money. This "economical" method steals true taste tea, turning flavored drink in a tinted liquid for drinking sandwiches.

Stereotype four: green tea bitter and not suitable for Russian tea drinking. It can turn out bitter in two cases - bad tea or improper brewing. Properly brewed green tea has a sweetish taste and delicate fragrance. And its color is very light, greenish or yellowish, but not intense, but almost transparent. You should not insist on green tea - you need to immediately start draining it, as soon as you fill the teapot with hot water. If the tea is still bitter, try pouring less tea leaves or pouring out the finished drink faster.

Another stereotype is that Russian tea drinking had an orderly appearance similar to English. This has never happened before, and this is perhaps the greatest value of tea in Russian. They drank tea as they liked, each house had its own traditions. Unwritten laws did not fix and did not make Russian tea drinking dead, as happened in England.

If we talk about the established tradition of Russian tea drinking, then we can single out a certain popular image, an average “brand” of tea in Russian: this is a samovar, a pot-bellied teapot, porcelain cups on saucers, lump sugar and tea treats: pancakes, pies, cheesecakes, bagels and other sweet and not very "snacks". This merchant-philistine way of drinking tea began to be considered Russian, since the noble tea drinking with its copying English traditions cannot be considered Russian.

It is customary to drink tea in Russian several times a day. As a rule, this is 4-6 times, and on the days of fasting and in winter, tea was drunk more actively. An indispensable attribute of Russian hospitality is tea. Now this tradition has been brought to automatism and involves, in addition to tea, obligatory conversations, sweet treats (jam, honey, pies, sweets and cookies). For guests, a special “holiday” service is kept in the house, which does not take part in everyday tea parties. The same service is used in the tea part of Russian feasts. In Soviet times, a beautiful tea set was an indicator of the status of the owners. The best were considered "foreign", those that were difficult to find. It was especially important to have a beautiful tea set at home as opposed to catering glasses with weak, sweet tea.

Incomprehensible to foreigners, the tradition of drinking tea from glasses goes back to the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, tea in taverns was served in glasses, because European cups and sets had not yet become fashionable. Later, glasses were gradually replaced by cups, but in some families it was customary to use such traditional dishes up to the revolution. Porcelain cups almost everywhere replaced glasses, but they still remained in taverns: tea, as rough male drink served in the same bowl as cheap alcohol or mixed alcohol with tea. In order not to burn your fingers, we made a cup holder. It was rather camping, railway utensils, which, under any favorable conditions, were replaced with porcelain or earthenware.

In the mandatory list of classical Russian subjects celebratory tea party included: a samovar or a kettle for heating water, a stand or a tray for a samovar, a service that consisted of a teapot, tea pairs (cups and saucers), a milk jug and a sugar bowl, tongs for refined sugar, tongs for splitting refined sugar, a strainer for a teapot, a vase for sweets . Water for tea preferred to take spring, soft. Tea on such water turned out fragrant and fresh. The method of brewing was similar to English. In the Russian tradition, however, it is not customary to brew tea as strongly as in England. Russian-style tea was prepared in a teapot and poured into cups without diluting it with water. In the case of adding milk or cream, they were warmed up and added to cups before tea. The tradition of doing separately strong brew, and then diluted with water has taken root in the worker-peasant environment, and now for some reason it is considered folk way. But given that tea with this method turns out much worse than brewed correctly, it is better not to use it.

There is a tradition of finishing the tea party. In the classic Russian version of the 18-19th century, this was a glass turned upside down or a cup placed on a saucer. Somewhat later, in the European manner, they began to put a spoon in a cup. A teaspoon in an empty cup was a sign that the guest no longer wanted tea. It was forbidden to blow on the tea to cool it, and to tinkle with a spoon while stirring the sugar. Rules good manners dictated that the spoon should not touch the walls of the cup, and at the end of stirring should not remain in the cup. Pouring tea in a saucer and drinking from it was also considered contrary to these rules. But, as you know, merchant tea refuted all overseas rules and provided greater freedom at the tea table.

In tsarist Russia, they drank mainly Chinese tea. Until the 19th century, it was exclusively Chinese, at the end of the 19th century Ceylon and Indian began to appear. Until the 19th century, teas from China, delivered by land, were highly valued - they did not deteriorate on the road, they did not get damp, although they were very expensive. Such tea was appreciated by European gourmets, who had no access to expensive Chinese tea. They bought it in Russia for a lot of money. In the middle of the 19th century, China drastically cut the supply of tea to Europe, and even banned some varieties for export. For Russia, on the contrary, an exception was made, and our ancestors could enjoy exclusive yellow tea, inaccessible to Europeans.

At the end of the 19th century, teas from India and Ceylon began to be sold in Russia, and the first tea crops appeared from Georgia and Krasnodar. Indian tea has always been inferior and cheaper than Chinese tea. There were exceptions - highland teas of northern India or the mountainous regions of Ceylon. Such tea went into mass sale and was a success with an inexperienced public or in taverns. Indian tea could be brewed strongly and economically, and its purpose was most often to “drink and warm”. Black tea became pie tea, tavern tea. Later, the same niche was occupied by Georgian, which was even lower grade and was sold as part of mixtures (blends). Krasnodar tea has always stood apart from all known tea-growing regions. Experiments on breeding a tea bush in rather cold conditions were successful, and the interesting and specific taste of Krasnodar tea found its admirers. However, the laboriousness and high price of "native" tea did not allow and still does not allow it to compete with Chinese and Indian varieties.

In the 20th century Chinese tea was drunk until the 70s, until relations with China worsened. Since the 1970s they switched to Ceylon and indian tea, as well as Georgian and Krasnodar, which appeared 100 years ago, but were considered low-grade and were only mixed with inexpensive Chinese and Indian varieties. In the 80s of the 20th century, the quality of imported tea in the USSR deteriorated sharply (primarily from Georgia). In the 90s, high-quality Chinese tea also leaked into Russia, along with knowledge of Chinese traditions, but the bulk of the tea was of very poor quality. Now the stores are dominated by cheap varieties Ceylon tea, the second most popular can be called Indian, followed by Chinese, Kenyan, Javanese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Iranian, and Krasnodar tea completes the rating. Georgian tea completely disappeared from sale due to its low quality.

As for expensive teas, their choice is so great that everyone has the opportunity to choose tea to their liking.