Why did Siberians drink tea with a towel and other Russian tea traditions

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The first recorded mentions of tea ceremonies date back to the Chinese era. Since then, tea culture has spread throughout the world with varying success, acquiring characteristic features in every nation. In Russia, the Siberians were the first to get acquainted with tea, which even gave rise to the proverb: tea for a Siberian, like potatoes for an Irishman. From there comes "tea with a towel", confirming the tea addictions of the inhabitants of Siberia.

Tea addictions of the Russian Empire

In European Russia, tea has long been used only as a medicine, initially not playing a significant role in the trade industry. Commercial tea supplies from China have been known since the early 18th century. Moreover, until the beginning of the 19th century, tea was imported to Russia not directly from the Middle Kingdom, but through Europe. Later, for the sake of protectionism, the import of the now popular product became possible only through the Chinese border. During that period, the Russians fought trade wars with the British, and tea was an active object of geopolitical trade relations. After the transition of tea from the medicinal category to everyday drinks, the tea era begins in Russia. The post-Petrine elite saw Chinese Confucianism as an ideal society, ruled by an enlightened emperor with the support of philosophers' subjects. Tea exotic from the Middle Kingdom perfectly fit into the trends of that time.

Features of the Siberian climate and the relevance of tea

The spread of tea traditions in Russian society was uneven. Much depended on the cultural foundations of specific regions of the empire, the level of income and worldview vectors of the inhabitants. Siberians were among the first to make friends with tea - in the 18th century. For most of the population, this pleasure was quite expensive at that time. Russians saw tea as a symbol of increased prosperity. And if on the main territory of the country tea drinking distinguished merchants and officials from commoners, Siberia stood out against the general background. Here tea became generally available due to its territorial location, and took root due to climatic conditions. Tea helped those traveling across Siberia and traders to stay productive.

In Transbaikalia, where frosts reached -35 ° C, hot tea was a salvation. One of the eyewitnesses described how the wanderers raked a hole in the snow for the night, equipping themselves with beds in bearskin coats. A large fire was kindled at their feet, and by morning the travelers rushed to the boiling kettle first of all. In addition, it was Siberians who fell in love with tea due to the harsh dietary habits. A distinctive feature of the Siberian cuisine was the abundant use of flour dishes. In winter, bread was baked there for months ahead and kept frozen in cellars. A favorite meal of the day was waffles in the form of strips of dough, dried in a Russian oven. Pies, pancakes, shangi, and rolls were baked everywhere. Siberians prepared pies of two types: on sour dough (hearth) and fried (lean yarn). Siberians were very fond of brushwood (or shavings) - intertwined dough boiled in oil. All these dense hearty dishes were ideally combined with fragrant tea, of which a huge amount was used for such tempting snacks.

Drinking tea means communicating

In Siberia, the ubiquity of tea drinking from the Chinese leaf coincided with the formation of an old-time population in that area. For this reason, the local descendants of servicemen and the Cossacks consider tea to be a traditional drink of Russian Siberia. Most of the Siberian tract followed a branch of the Great Tea Route. So tea drinking took root here earlier than in the European part of Russia. Tea in Siberia was of better quality and cost less than in the rest of Russia. Therefore, not only wealthy citizens could afford tea drinking. In the language of Siberians, "to communicate" meant the same thing as "to have tea", and "to call for seagulls" - "to invite to visit."

The expression “have tea” was also frequent. It vividly reflected the tradition of not just drinking tea, but having a full meal. After all, wheat pancakes, pies with different fillings, pancakes, sweet rolls were served with the hot drink. The methods of making tea in Siberian style also differed, up to the most exotic ones. In the eastern part of the region, the so-called "zaturan" was brewed from cheap tea with salt, milk and flour fried in butter. This atypical recipe was described by an official who was there on government issues. In his notes, he recalled how at the Siberian station he was offered to warm up with boiling milk tea with lard and salt.

Tea drinking and tea accessories

At home, Siberians drank tea from a samovar, and the volume of drinking forced the hostess to use the services of an assistant. The so-called rinse aid refreshed the cups and glasses, as the leftover drink at the bottom affected the taste of the fresh portion. Then the tradition of "tea with a towel" arose, when during the ceremony you had to wipe off the sweat.

Homemade samovars made by hand from copper, brass, silver or cupronickel deserved special attention. Styles and shapes were very different, and the capacity ranged from 2-80 liters. Siberians melted samovars with pine cones and birch coals. The highest value was given to birch raw materials, which did not give off an extraneous odor.

It was no coincidence that tea ware, which was mostly made of earthenware, was chosen. Sweets and tea preserves were served in crystal plates, with each separate type on a separate saucer. Nuts, apricots, dried wine berries, and prunes were served in the same way. They drank tea and a bite of sugar, which was bought by heads and was very sparingly spent due to its high cost. Chinese lollipop sugar was popular. Often Siberians replaced sugar with honey and raisins, which were considered a primordial Siberian tea seasoning. Altai honey was considered the best, which was famous even outside Siberia. Moreover, it cost less than sugar. Honey was served at the end of the meal as a separate dish, as well as in honeycombs. They ate it by itself or with bread, washed down with tea. It is interesting that in Siberia it was customary to supplement tea and honey ceremonies with fresh cucumbers.

Well, in general, in the old days, tea was worth its weight in gold. A the tea trees who owned the secrets of this drink, too.