...about tea...

Hi. Missed you all and thank you very much for your comments.

Going back to tea subject…

Today I am posting a photo of a tea set. Please pay attention to at least three things on the photo: samovar (the usual), tea pot on it (as you might know we prepare tea leaves separately in a ceramic tea pot.) We never boil the tea. First we put couple of spoons of tea into the tea pot and then add just boiled hot water. Then we put the pot on a little gas or as on this picture on a samovar so that tea leaves open up…but if tea starts to boil it means that tea is wasted and another tea must be prepared…then I want you to pay attention to typical Azerbaijani tea glasses called “armudu” meaning pear-shaped. The idea of “armudu” is that tea stays hot in narrower lower part and becomes cooler on a wider top part (where one’s lips touch). On this picture as you can see lemons are in “armudu” waiting for tea to get ready and be served. This picture is taken in “çayxana” tea-house…at homes lemons are usually never put into the tea glasses in advance as preferences differ and people might want to drink tea without lemon. We never drink tea with milk…and sugar is added into tea mostly at breakfasts…one would scarcely find an Azerbaijani drinking sweet tea (as we call tea with sugar) during typical relaxing tea sessions…