Russia - Smoked Tea

Tea has been known in Russia since the middle of the 15th century, but it was only one hundred and fifty years later that it was regularly imported to Moscow.

Beginning from the mid-18 hundreds, drinking tea has become a phenomenon that took hold of the entire empire, encompassing all classes.

While tea was initially shared within the family, over time, drinking tea became a social act that has been much described in the Russian literature of the 19th and 20th century.

At the heart of the Russian tea tradition is the samovar, whose ever-simmering belly is a symbol of sharing, conviviality and warmth.

One of the most favored teas in Russia is the smoked tea. It is a classical Chinese black tea that is smoked in a smokehouse at the end of the production. The taste that the tea acquires in that process is very variable, ranging from tastes of bacon to that of pine forests.