Russian Tea Recipes - My Best Sugar Free & Others

Most of the Russian Tea Recipes which you find in cookbooks and on the Internet have evolved over time from a history of tea preparations in Russia.  These are basically instant tea mixtures, which may have (or may not) originated from Russia, but with the more popular addition of tang, an orange drink from the 1960's.

Of course, the original Russian tea recipes used brewed teas, herbs, juices, etc for a spicy, zesty tea.

Russia was slow to get on the tea binge, considering it is a European country. Tea was introduced to Russia from China in the early 17th century. Before this the Russians enjoyed an herball tea called Sbiten, a brew of herbs, honey and of course water.

Today in Russia, tea is the most consumed non-alcoholic drink. The Russians have made the tea ceremony an integral part of their social culture.  They use a special tea pot called a Samovar.

Russian culture and this Tea Ceremony with the Samovar evolved into a very elaborate elitist celebration.  Today, tea drinking is  a more informal ceremony, known to promote family and social gatherings, where you can relax and talk about everything and anything.

The samovar is unique because it allows you to preserve both your tea and water hot at the same time. This interesting device, with its large container and chimney, could keep water and tea temperature constant  at the same time.

The Samovar has a small tap on its outer wall that when opened, allows hot water to be added to the concentrated mixture so as to dilute it. Everyone can have the strength of tea they desire.

The resultant atmosphere, the smell that emanates from this tea,  and even the color of the mixture cascading from this magnificent container give an ambient pleasure making Russian tea time special.

Sweetening your tea is also an experience for kings.  Some have been known to put a sugar cube under the tongue or to the side of the mouth as they sip.  Most will add sugar, lemon, honey, or even, fruit or jam to the tea.

The Russian Tea in this web site is an instant mix with several different recipes.  If you search the web, you will note all these genre of recipes as very similar, and yet very different.  Variants of these recipes can be found under the names "Russian Tea", "Russian Friendship Tea", or "Sputnik Tea."  The mixtures have evolved much from the ancient ways, but they do emulate some of the similar tastes.  These mixes are easily hand made from scratch and make excellent gifts.  I will include one brewed recipe which will remind you a little of how it used to be.  If you want to get  even more with the ancient customs, buy you a Samovar, invite some friends over, and celebrate with a Russian Tea Cermony.

Resources:
Russian Tea - Tea Recipes - Russian Culture - Samovars & Tea Cakes  Russian Tea - Teas place and history in Russian culture, including the Tea Ceremony, Russian Tea Recipe, Cookies and Cakes, Samovars and the Instant Tea ...
Russian customs, holidays and traditions  Russian traditions and customs. ... This part of the site is devoted to Russian history, customs, ...
russian tea history : history of tea :: teatips.info  In 1833, first tea plantations appeared in Georgia (I consider this fact a part of Russian tea history as Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and later ...
Russian tea culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  Main article: History of tea in Russia

HOW TO NAKE  ...       Sbiten  an herbal tea
   * 3 QUARTS of water
     * ¾ cup of honey
     * 5 grams of spices - cinnamon, malt, cloves and mint
     * 5 grams of berries or cranberry juice

Boil water, add spices, boil together about 1/2 hour and serve.

A traditional samovar consists of a large metal container with a faucet near the bottom and a metal pipe running vertically through the middle. Samovars are typically crafted out of copper, brass, bronze, silver, gold, tin or nickel. The pipe is filled with solid fuel to heat the water in the surrounding container. A small (6 to 8 inches) smoke-stack is put on the top to ensure draft. After the fire is off a teapot could be placed on top to be kept heated with the passing hot air. The teapot is used to brew the zavarka, a strong concentrate of tea. The tea is served by diluting this concentrate with  kipyatok (boiled water) from the main container, usually at a ratio of about 10 parts water to one part tea concentrate, although tastes vary.  It is particularly well-suited to tea-drinking in a communal setting over a protracted period. The Russian expression "to have a sit by samovar" means to have a leisurely talk while drinking tea from samovar.
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