|
|
 |
TEA IN RUSSIAN STYLE. |
First rule: tea is made of tea. Period. Other hot beverages based on leaves of vegetation different from the Tea Bush (Thea sinensis) are not tea.However, hot water and tea leaves do not necessarily make good tea. The ways of wasting the precious leaves are amazingly plentiful and widespread.  In America, for instance, making bad tea seems to be a matter of patriotism since the infamous incident in Boston.
Second rule: forget those paperbags. They are filled with the dust swept from the floor at tea factories. The bags give the tea an unmistakable flavor of cellulose. In Russia, we call it "the postman's tea", because it comes in envelopes.
Third rule: never cook the tea leaves.  The first contact of the tea leaves with water should happen right after the boiling of the latter. Neither before, nor long after. If you cook the tea leaves, you will obtain a liquid almost, but not entirely, unlike tea, fit for leather tanning, rather than drinking.
Zavarka (tea concentrate in Russian) is usually prepared in a teapot ("chainik" in Russian) made of porcelain. The inside has to be hot at the moment you put the leaves therein. Usually, this is achieved by steaming (on the inside), but rinsing with hot water does the job equally well. Russians disagree as to whether the pot should be wet or dry. The followers of the latter opinion wipe it dry with a cloth or a napkin after steaming. In my experience, it makes no difference. Hence, I stick to the minimum-effort approach and leave it wet.
 Prior to any further action, you should boil a fair amount of water. You will need kipyatok at various stages of the process, and you will inevitably spill some of it during your first attempt. Actually, the more you fear spilling a liquid, the more likely it is that you will, because you are too cautious. Don't hesitate -- be resolute, but pay attention, as hot water is dangerous and carelessness may result in serious injuries.
 Boiled water is the only water used in the process of tea making. The Russian language actually makes a clear distinction between "boiled water" and "raw water". The latter is often misinterpreted by non-native speakers as wet water (as opposed to dry water?), which is funny. Although these substances are very similar, they behave very differently under certain circumstances for some mysterious reason. Even a minute quantity of raw water, no matter how hot, can spoil the tea. Therefore, keep the water boiling for a while in order to make sure that it is boiled thoroughly.
The basic steps of zavarka preparation are as follows:
- Put a certain amount of tea leaves into some pot;
- Pour kipyatok onto them (approx. one cup for each five teaspoons) in one resolute spurt;
- Wait until all the leaves sink.
|
| To be continued ... |
| source: home.fazekas.hu |
| |
| |
|
|
|
){kind=small}
