Back home tea time was considered an important occasion. To me its importance was not only the union of a joyful family, but I also liked to sit and watch our samovar. Every day my mother would prepare the samovar for tea.

Our samovar was made of a metal urn with an internal tube for heating the water. I was forbidden to go near the samovar while it was boiling. To me, this beautifully designed silver self boiler seemed like a sacred prince.

To boil the water in the urn, my mother would put charcoal in the tube and would cover the top of the vessel with a round metal plate with two wooden handles on each side. Then she would put a round carved metal, which to me looked like a crown on top of the tube. On the top of the crown she would place a tea kettle to be infused. Every day, I would sigh at the crowning of my prince. I would go closer to see its delicate carved pedestals which were placed on a silver tray. After ten minutes I would hear perk, perk, perk. I would look up and there I would see my prince sending up steam signals to me.

The tea would be ready. I was the first to ask for the first cup of tea because I loved to watch my mother turning the carved wooden spigot which was located right in the middle of the urn. I would drink the delicious steaming tea with the yearning, "May be next year I will be old enough to crown my prince".