How did tea appear in Russia? Who brought the tea to Russia?

Of course, tea is not a traditional Russian drink. However, during those centuries that he was drunk in Russia, he strongly influenced the culture of the country, not only for cooking and etiquette. This hot drink contributed to the development of international trade, industry and folk crafts. Today, Russia occupies one of the first places in its consumption per capita. But despite this, very few people know how in Russia tea appeared and who brought it first to their homeland. But the story is more than entertaining.

Only the legend

Of course, there is no exact date for the appearance of tea on Russian soil. However, all historians agree that it happened in the 16-17th centuries - even earlier than in England and Holland. According to one of the versions, ataman Petrov and Yalyshev tried it for the first time under Ivan the Terrible. According to the information of the famous collector of the ancient texts of I. Sakharov, this happened in 1567. However, later historians expressed a different version about who brought the tea to Russia.

The first Russian tasters ...

So, in 1638 the Russian ambassador Vasily Starkov was sent with a mission to the Mongolian khan Altan Kuchkun. As a present, gold utensils, expensive sable fur, wild honey and cloth were presumed to him. Khan liked the Russian gifts so much that he sent a whole caravan in return. Among the gifts were four bales of tea.

However, the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich did not immediately evaluate the dried grass, considering it unfit. Only after detailed inquiries of Vasily Starkov, the drink "tea" was appreciated, but without regular supplies from China it was quickly forgotten.

They remembered him only about 30 years later, when his son, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was already sick. The court physician suggested tea as a healing drink. For a long time tea was considered a medicine. Everything changed the Khan's further campaign to Moscow. Since the end of the 17th century, tea drinking has become part of Russian culture.

... and the first tea traditions

So, the delivery to Russia, until the 19th century, was carried out by land caravans, which came from China for 16 months. The cost of tea was high. Such a drink was clearly beyond the means of an ordinary Russian person. He basically could afford members of the royal family, boyars, nobles and rich merchants. It was at this time that the presence of tea in the house was considered a sign of prosperity and prosperity, and their tea traditions appeared in Russia.

So, unlike China, it was customary to drink it in a big company, serving jam, baking and other sweets. Brewed tea in special teapots, then diluted with boiling water. So this hot drink is drunk only in Russia - it's a national tradition. The appearance of tea in Russia led to the invention of a samovar, which could not be better suited to Russian tea-drinking.

With the opening of the Siberian Railway (at the end of the 19th century) and the beginning of the export of tea from Ceylon and India, the cost of the drink dropped sharply and it was already widely consumed. Of course, nobility still preferred elite varieties from North China. Peasants and urban residents preferred cheaper Indian varieties or even a surrogate. It was tea that was the first product that was forged in Russia.

Influence on industry and trade

The history of tea in Russia is closely linked with the development of international trade relations and the development of industry. For a long time tea was brought from North China, making a long transition through Siberia, which contributed a lot to the development of this part of the country as an industrial and commercial center. The same Irkutsk, right up to the beginning of the 20th century, was a staging post for all tea caravans. In addition to China from Russia they took in return cloth, furs and honey. By the end of the 19th century, the trade turnover between the countries was 6 million rubles, one-third of all imports to the Russian Empire.

In addition, after tea appeared in Russia, new factories and plants began to appear. So, Tula became the center of production of samovars. Already in the middle of the 19th century, at 28 different factories, they were made up to 120,000 a year. To this day, one of the symbols of Russia is the painted Tula samovar. Also at the end of the 18th century the production of Russian porcelain began, which was greatly promoted by the Russian Empress Catherine II. There were many private manufactories manufacturing it for the mass market. The best products, which later became part of Russian culture, were produced at the Imperial Porcelain Factory (today - Lomonosovsky).

Tea drinking in Russian

Today it is difficult to imagine Russia without tea. His influence on Russian culture is difficult to overestimate. Every day every resident of the country drinks at least 3-4 cups a day. There are also their traditions. So, what is it - tea in Russian? And what is so different from the eastern ceremony, where the main thing is to immerse yourself in your inner world? And why, following the appearance of tea in Russia, was it considered a symbol of hospitality?

Since Russians have always been distinguished by generosity and kindness, the warming tea quickly began to be perceived as an opportunity to show its location to an expensive guest. That is why in Russia always served him all sorts of goodies - kalachi, bread, homemade jam and wild honey. Also, only in Russia it was customary to drink tea "vprikusku." It was believed that only this way you can enjoy his unique taste. And tea with a lemon and at all is called all over the world Russian. Another national tradition is to drink tea from glass cups with cup holders.

In general, we can say that the Russian tea-drinking is, first of all, a long, leisurely conversation. It was at tea invited and invited friends, relatives and colleagues, when they want to establish or strengthen relations.

Own production

The Chinese and Indian origin of tea imported to Russia made the country dependent on imports. However, for a long time it was believed that it is impossible to grow Russian tea because of unfavorable natural conditions. For the first time this was done only in 1817 on the territory of the Crimea. However, the case did not go further than the experimental and exhibition samples.

Industrial production was established only in the Soviet Union. A lot of this contributed to the love of IV Stalin for this drink. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the first harvest of Russian tea was successfully harvested in Georgia. Then it was grown in Azerbaijan and the Krasnodar Territory. The peak of popularity of the product was in the 1970s. However, the desire of management to reduce the cost price led to a sharp decline in the quality of the drink. As a consequence, the demand for local tea fell among the population.

Influence on culture

Today tea is an integral part of the Russian treasure. He was pleased to drink L. Tolstoy, F. Dostoyevsky and A. Pushkin. There appeared a lot of stable expressions about him. Perhaps, the most famous of them is "to give to tea." A picture of Kustodiev "Merchant" and did become a kind of anthem of Russian tea drinking. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this drink for Russia. And it does not matter how tea appeared in Russia, but without it the country would be completely different.