Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (2024)

FAQs

What makes Russian tea different? ›

Since no one can compete with a classic glass of sweet tea, though, in the South, Russian Tea became synonymous with a hot drink flavored with oranges or lemons and spiced with vanilla, rum, cinnamon, and sometimes preserved cherries.

Zavarka Russian Tea Recipe (заварка)

Pour some tea concentrate into a cup, and fill the rest of the cup with boiling water. Adjust the tea, depending on the color and strength you prefer. Add milk and sugar, or a lemon slice if you prefer. Keep topping up the zavarka with hot water and enjoy drinking tea.

We normally make our Russian Tea with black tea which does contain caffeine. If you'd like you can use caffeine free tea bags for a treat that won't keep you up all night.

Traditionally, black tea is the most common tea in Russia, but green tea is becoming more popular.

Place of Origin

American recipes for the drink date back to the late 19th century, when according to Garden & Gun, well-to-do Yanks adopted the Russian style of serving tea with lemon and sugar. As the blog Yesterdish notes, the name Russian Tea initially referred to a simple iced brew with lemon.

It was traditionally composed of black tea with lemon and sugar, orange and pineapple juices, cinnamon, clove, honey, and lemon or orange wedges for garnish. It was typically afforded only by the elite at this time and enjoyed during the cold of winter as a way to warm up.

The samovar: thermos and kettle

As soon as the water in the samovar is hot (it should not boil), it is poured from the faucet into the cup or glass to dilute the concentrated tea. The first samovars were made in Russia in the 18^th century, but the most prestigious came from Toula (to the south of Moscow).

A traditional samovar consists of a large metal container with a tap near the bottom and a metal pipe running vertically through the middle. The pipe is filled with solid fuel which is ignited to heat the water in the surrounding container.

They drink tea with lemon and/or milk, they can add sugar or jam. Russians drink tea daily, sometimes around-the-clock, everywhere - and on any occasion.

What is Russian tea called? ›

In Russia, the most common preparation of tea is called zavarka—and the key here is that it's not about what kind of tea you brew, but how you brew it.

It was traditionally composed of black tea with lemon and sugar, orange and pineapple juices, cinnamon, clove, honey, and lemon or orange wedges for garnish. It was typically afforded only by the elite at this time and enjoyed during the cold of winter as a way to warm up.

Unlike English tea culture, in Russia, tea is usually taken black and sweet. Despite the rising popularity of green tea in the nation, black tea is still the most common. Often a sugar cube is placed between the teeth and then the tea is sipped through it.

A typical style of drinking tea in Russia is brewing tea using traditional tea thing "Samovar", and add jam in their tea. Adding milk in the tea is not very popular, however, there is one region in Russia where people add butter and milk in their tea.