Russian And English Tea Traditions

CONTENTS History of Russian tea History of English tea Russian tea English tea For fun and profit

In 1567 Cossack atamans Petrov and Yalyshev visited China where they tried a local drink – tea. In 1638 an ambassador

Vasiliy Starkov brought a present to the Russian Tsar from one of Mongol Khans – 64 kg of tea. In 1665 when the Tsar Aleksey Mikhaylovich had got stomach aches the court

doctor, Samoylo Kallins treated him with tea. So Russian tea history began.

Russian tea history.

Tea was brought to Russia from Northern China where it was called “cha-i” or “cha-e” that is why in Russia the drink got the name “chay” (tea). In Russia tea was often called “the Chinese

herb” or “the Chinese dry herb”.

By 1820 the set of rules and customs, called Russian tea traditions, generally had formed – though tea was still too

expensive to become a mass drink. In 1833 first tea plantations appeared in Georgia which was a part of Russian

Empire. In 1882 in St. Petersburg the first official tea-room was opened.

The last point of the Russian tea history is 1900. That year the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was finished. The transportation of tea by this road made the drink rather

cheap and mass in Russia.

Many stories end with a marriage, but this story starts with a marriage… This is the story of English tea. In 1662 Prince

Charles II married the Portuguese Princess, Catherine of Braganza. The princess was very fond of tea and since that

time the English tea tradition began.

English tea history.

Tea was brought from China and until the middle of the 19th century there was no other tea. But this tea was very

expensive and the English were trying to find ways to grow tea in their own colonies. In 1835 in Assam, an Indian state,

first tea was grown

In 1840 the most beautiful part of English tea history started. Anna Maria Stanhope, the Duchess of Bedford completely

formed English tea traditions. She invented afternoon tea – tea between lunch and dinner with fine conversation.

In 1870 R. Twining & Co. Ltd. first began to blend teas to improve the taste of final drink and to provide the stability of quality. In 1875 Thomas Lipton who made Ceylon a tea island

opened his first shop. By the end of the 19th century the forming of Tea Britain was for the most part over.

Tea became an element of English mass culture. The most popular tea sorts in Great Britain are Brooke Bond, Lipton,

Twinning, The Earl Grey, Jacksons of Piccadilly and The Darjeeling Garden.

There are small and pleasant tea things which were invented in Russia: tea with lemon, drinking tea from the

saucer and tea “vprikusku” (drinking tea holding a lump of sugar in the mouth)

Russian tea.

Tea with lemon.Tea with this “yellow sour thing” was popular among the

travellers at the Russian roads and post station. At that time already, the drink was known to help all jolted and sick. The way from posts to metropolitan salons tea with lemon made rather fast. In Western Europe black tea with a slice of lemon

was called “Russian tea”.

The custom to drink tea from a saucer is connected with the samovar. In samovar water boiled quite long. The tea pot was kept on top of the samovar, so the brew was also very hot. It was simply impossible to drink such tea. So people started

pouring it into saucers. First, it faster got cooler there. Second, one could sip tea from the saucer and mix it with air

when inhaling.

Drinking tea from a saucer.

As for tea “vprikusku” this custom appeared because of high prices both for tea and for sugar. At rich houses it was

customary to under fill the cup with tea. Guests could easily add sugar or jam into the cup – and such under filled cups were the symbol of wealth of the house and respect for the guest. At poor houses hosts filled cups full, so that nothing else could be put into cup. The lumps of sugar guests put

into the mouth and drank tea through them.

Tea “vprikusku”.

Tea-drinking is quite a tradition with English. They have it a lot of times during the day. The main signs of English tea are tea with milk, laying the table for 5 o’clock tea, hot

water adding.

English tea.

English tea is tea with milk. Drinking tea with milk is an old English tradition. The rule says that first you should pour

milk into a cup and then tea. This custom appeared because the earliest porcelain cups manufactured in England were

likely to crack it very hot tea was poured directly into them. Placing the milk in the cup before adding the tea helped to

protect the cup.

Tea with milk.

To lay the table for English 5 o’clock tea ceremony you need one-color (white or blue) table cloth, a small vase with

flowers, a fork and a knife for every tea-drinking person, serviettes, tea cups and saucers, the tea pot with tea, a jug

with boiled water, a jug milk or cream, sugar –bowl with lump sugar, tea spoons. Small plates with bread and butter or bread and jam, biscuits, small sandwiches are also on the

table.

Five-o-clock tea.

The main secret of the English tea ceremony is the very hot water adding. Tea is brewed for 3 – 5 minutes in the tea pot

and then poured out into cups. Right after it hot water from a water-jug is added to the tea pot. This water-adding dilutes

tea, which will have drawn by the moment when the first cup will be over and will keep tea relatively hot and still rather

tasty for the repeated drinking.

Hot water adding.

When do English drink tea? At eight o'clock in the morning

For our breakfast we'll seeCornflakes and buttered toastAnd let's have a cup of tea!

At four o'clock in the afternoonThere'll be food for you and me!Cream cakes and sandwiches And let's have a cup of tea!

At seven o'clock in the eveningA lovely supper we'll seeChips, peas and fish-fingersAnd let's have a cup of tea!

At ten o'clock at nightWe'll have a piece of breadAnd I'll make a cup of teaAnd then we'll go to bed.

If you want to enjoy drinking black tea, you should follow nine very

important rules. You should have several teas on your kitchen shelf and you can choose one according

to your mood.

Water must be water. Use filters, buy bottled water, find clean springs with soft water, and do not use kettles with a lot of far.

Water should not be over boiled. Let the kettle boil, but not too long. Do not boil water repeatedly.

The tea pot should be porcelain, clay or glass. It should be add any strange taste to tea.

Better drink tea from a cup and not a mug. The cup possibly should have thin walls.

If you want to add anything to tea (sugar, milk, lemon, liquor) better make tea stronger. If you are interested in the taste of tea itself than do not make it too strong.

Wait till tea gets a bit cooler. Not to burn your mouth.

No “secondary” tea! Do not be lazy to make every time new tea for yourself and your guests.

Do not concentrate exclusively on tea when you drink it. Talks, read, listen to music – then tea will be the most delicious.

Put the pictures into the correct order and match them with sentences.

a) Boil the water

b) Warm the pot

c) Put one teaspoon of tea in the pot for each person and one extra for the pot

d) Pour hot water into the pot

e) Fill the kettle with cold water

1

2

34

5