19th century Moscow cuppa

Mos.ru and the Museum of Moscow produced this edition together of History of Things. It’s all about the rich tea-drinking traditions in 19^th-century Moscow. Well-known Russian ethnographer Sergei Maksimov coined the expression “mass tea-drinking in Moscow”. The 19^th-century writer and journalist N. Polyakov wondered if there was another city in the world where tea played such an important role as it did in Moscow. People in other regions of the country called the Muscovites “tea people”, “excessive tea-drinkers” or “tea addicts” but the latter did not take offence as tea really did play a key role in their everyday lives.

Moscow style tea drinking was not just about quenching one’s thirst, it was more like a special ritual filled with a philosophical meaning. In old-time Moscow, a visitor who dropped by when tea was being taken would greet the people, saying: “Bless you all and your tea and sugar.” Those already drinking their tea would say something like: “Will you join us.” An extra tea cup or a glass would then be put on the table.    

There are plenty of tea-related traditions, myths, proverbs and superstitious beliefs. In his story A Family Friend, Alexander Vyurkov wrote that people in Moscow had a tradition involving filling a glass to the brim hoping for a richer and fuller life. Superstitious people believed that if a charcoal-burning samovar started to crackle and “sing songs”, this bode well for them. On the contrary, a peremptory whistle produced by a samovar was a bad sign, meaning people were heading for trouble. The worst sign of all was a samovar coming unsoldered. 

People in Moscow had habitual practices that only they could understand. For example, if, after drinking a dozen glasses of tea, someone frequenting a tea-house or tavern put their glass aside, that did not mean he or she would not drink more tea while a glass turned upside down with whatever remained of a lump of sugar on top would mean that the tea drinking was over.

“Moscow residents drank tea in the morning and at noon and it was a must to drink it at 4 pm. At this time samovars were simmering in every home around Moscow; tea-houses and taverns were crowded and the life in the city came to a standstill for a while.  People also drank tea in the evening or when they were feeling sad or because they were not better engaged or just for the sake of drinking. They drank tea with milk, lemon or took it with jam but, most importantly, they drank it with pleasure, preferring strong, flavoured and hot tea burning their lips. A city resident would politely turn down weak tea “through which Moscow could be seen” and hated to drink tea brewed in teapots….” 

A Family Friend by Alexander Vyurkov

Tea was popular with people from various social backgrounds, including merchants, peasants, blue collar workers and members of the aristocracy. This therefore explains why traditions were different – from tea drinking in taverns to tea drinking at social functions.  

There were different blends of tea, depending on people’s preferences. What mattered were a person’s social status, state of health, gender and hours he or she drank tea. Peasants and workers could not afford genuine tea for a long time, normally replacing it with herbal brews. Merchants and landowners shaped a tea-dinking culture of their own: they poured tea from a samovar that held as much water as a bucket would and ate lots of food and sweets. Alcoholic beverages like liqueurs and balsams were also often added to tea or served separately.   

Even the poorest students drank tea, although they could hardly afford to buy even 50 grammes of the cheapest tea. When signing employment contracts, artisans and craftsmen made sure that their remuneration included wages, food and tea.

“Is there any other single city on the globe where tea plays as important role as it does in Moscow? Tea! What a magical appeal the word holds for a Moscow resident! What a warm and nice feeling a Muscovite is overwhelmed by, hearing the word ‘tea’… Tea is an important and indispensable produce for Moscow residents; they need it so much that they would rather agree not to eat than not to drink tea.” 

Essay Tea by N. Polyakov

Moscow was the centre of the tea trade in Russia and a trend-setter in the use of this beverage. In the mid-19^th century it became all the rage to go out for a picnic with a samovar in tow. Fragrant tea served with knot-shaped biscuits, pies and doughnuts were frequently available for people strolling through Moscow parks. The famous collection of memoirs Moskovskaya Starina [Moscow in Old Times] provides a description of such “picnics with samovars” at Maryina Roshcha, Sokolniki and Devichye Polye. At the time, drinking tea from a pattered glass with  a holder was in fashion among men who were accepted into Moscow’s intellectual salons.

There was a wide choice of varieties in the tea shops: from own-brand teas supplied by popular manufacturers to more affordable bricks of numbered compressed tea intended for mass consumption. In the mid-19^th century, tea was one of the main items sold at groceries. Moscow-based entrepreneurs did a lot to increase the public awareness of tea through advertising and packaging.

The owners of tea-packing factories – the Vysotsky, the Botkin and the Perlov merchants – were among the most prominent magnates. The city’s major tea shop was The Perlov House on Myasnitskaya Street. This was the oldest and most specialised tea shop and it was owned by merchant Sergei Perlov. It was housed in a building that had been done up in a Chinese style by architect Karl Gippius in the late 19^th century. Sergei Perlov was the first to start selling tea in stylish tins as well as porcelain containers. In Soviet times, the shop remained in place but its name was Chayeupravleniye [Tea trade management]. It has survived to this very day but now it is called Tea and Coffee.

The dynasty of the Moscow tea traders Perlov dates back to 1700 when the family founder Ivan the son of Mikhail (1700–1759) was born in the city. His surname was not Perlov, though. Ivan’s son Alexei (1751–1813) launched a tea retail business in Moscow in 1787 that later developed into a family business which thrived for several generations. In the late 19^th century, the Perlovs were appointed a supplier to the imperial court with the right to depict the national emblem and the inscription “supplier to the imperial court” on the labels. In addition to the Russian royal court, they supplied tea to the court of the Austrian emperor, the Romanian king, the Prince of Montenegro and also the Grand Duke of Nassau.