Tea is a popular beverage worldwide and perhaps even the national beverage of Russia along with vodka. This is understandably so: with the cold, snowy and never-ending winters that make up the climate in many parts of Russia, one needs to stay warm!
Tea, camellia sinensis, is native to China. Tea is prepared by pouring boiling water over the tea leaves and allowing it to seep for three to five minutes.
It was the Mongols that introduced Russians to the fine art of brewing and drinking tea, called chai in Russian. The first teas in Russia were imported via caravans and over the long journey from China, the tea leaves acquired a smoky taste.
Tea is prepared in a teapot or a tea urn called the samovar -- in Russian meaning cooks itself. The samovar is made of brass and it provides boiling water by the charcoal fire that burns in a vertical tube in the center of the samovar. The resulting tea is called the “zavarka” and is concentrated, so each person drinking tea must add hot water to their cup to customize the strength. Brewing tea in the samovar is a ritual.
Members of the Russian Ballet paid tribute to the age old custom of tea drinking when they opened the Russian Tea Room in New York back in 1927. This famous landmark is “six minutes and twenty three seconds from Lincoln Center and slightly to the left of Carnegie Hall,” that is, on 150 West 57th Street. The Russian Tea Room serves traditional Russian food, including caviar, borscht and blini in a delightful atmosphere, offers High Tea, and also cocktails named after Ivan the Terrible, Nureyev, and Rasputin. One never knows what celebrities are lurking within the Tea Room.
As a little girl, I’d walk past this New York landmark with my family many times after performances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. I’d gaze at the glamorous women walking in through the door and wonder what went on in there. I plan on finding out one day in the not too distant future -- it’s on my list.
For now, I’ll brew my own tea and prepare it in a variety of ways: plain, with milk or cream, with lemon, honey, jam, and even the fruit that was used in making brandy or flavored cordials. My favorites are herbal teas, especially calming chamomile, and the bergamot tinged Earl Grey teas that I drink with sugar and cream.
My Papa has his own special recipe for a tea to keep colds away, in fact, he swears by it. First, he prepares a cup of strong tea, adds a finger or two (shot) of brandy or sweet wine, a squeeze of lemon, and 2 tablespoons of honey. Papa mixes it well and crawls under the covers where he proceeds to drink the tea hot to sweat out the potential cold and exterminate the bugs. Nine times out of ten, the remedy works and he doesn’t get sick!
Now that the weather is getting cooler in the Northern Hemisphere, I invite you to explore the wide world of teas -- the wide variety available today is truly a delight to the senses. Serve tea as a symbol of hospitality with a sweet, but remember that when seeping tea, allow the flavor to develop for 3-4 minutes. Don’t over do it!
