Samovar
In the centre of the Russian tea tradition
is the samovar, a large container made of copper, bronze or porcelain.
A small pot ("tscheinik") with extremely strongly brewed tea is placed
on top of this container.
Inside the samovar, the
temperature of the water for tea is kept at the boiling point by
glowing char coal which is placed in a chimney-like tube in the middle
of the container. Nowadays, however, the samovar is heated eletrically.
Using a small tab, the hot water is poured from the
container into a cup. The tea concentrate of the teapot is then added
to the hot water in a ratio of 1/3 to 2/3, or adjusted to taste.
In
Russia, tea is always drunken without milk and out of glasses. It is
also very popular to drink the tea with a piece of brown sugar or a
spoon full of fruity jam which is taken into the mouth while sipping
from the bitter, strong tea.
This habit of tea drinking
has also found many supporters in Europe. The selection of samovars has
developed from classical to very modern, electrically heated ones.
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