Tea began to be grown in India only in the 19th century. It was brought to this country from China, but plantations were planted in only one state - Assam. Now India already occupies an honorable second place in tea production, losing the palm to China. Mostly black Indian is grown here, but a small share of the total production belongs to green and.
There are four large tea plantations in India:
- Assam;
- Darjeeling;
- Nilgiris;
- Sikkim.
Some varieties are named after the state in which they grow.
Black Indian tea
There are only two main types of black tea in India: Assam and Darjeeling. These are some of the most the best varieties, but mixtures of them and lower quality options can be buy V simple store. In special tea shops you can choose real tea, based on its variety, time of collection and plantation where it grew.
Indian tea "Assam"
The variety is named after the name of the state where it grows. The state of Assam is located in the northern part of India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Mostly black tea is produced here, but in addition green and white varieties are grown.
The plant differs from its Chinese counterpart in having larger leaves. The height of the tree growing on the plantation is no more than 2 m - this human intervention is necessary for ease of assembly. But in the wild, the tree grows up to 20 m. A huge advantage of this variety is its unpretentiousness. Even if the weather conditions were not very favorable, a good harvest will still be ensured, although its quality will decrease somewhat.
It is important! The collection takes place twice: from late March to early April, and from July to September. Best quality The harvest is a privilege of the second harvest, so the main part is collected at this time. In some cases, the collection is extended until December, called the winter collection.
Assam has its own special aroma with floral notes. Mixed with all this fragrance is a sweet honey smell. You can add lemon, milk and sugar to the finished drink. But the most sophisticated tea lovers drink it without additives, enjoying pure taste. The drink is often used during traditional English tea for breakfast.
Indian Darjeeling tea
This variety is grown in the state of the same name. Tea plantations are located at altitudes ranging from 750 to 2000 meters in the Himalayas. It is here that, in addition to black tea, white and green tea also grow. Darjeeling is more prized than other types of black tea. Real tea, if cooked correctly, has tart taste with a hint of flowers and nutmeg. The refined smell and taste of the drink is given by the conditions in which it is grown: growing in high altitude and cool conditions, as well as the characteristics of the soil.
Darjeeling
Despite the fact that the variety belongs to black tea, it is not completely fermented. Therefore, it can to some extent be classified as an oolong. Unlike Assam, Darjeeling is a Chinese subspecies of the plant - which is why its taste is different from other varieties of Indian tea.
Tea is harvested in the spring, at the end of March - beginning of April. This crop produces the lightest color ready drink. The next harvest is made in May and June, and is the most valued. There are two more types of collection: autumn and rain. But they are not valued as highly as the previous two.
It is important! Darjeeling is extremely sensitive to storage conditions. The container containing the tea leaves must be hermetically sealed. The preferred storage location is dark, free of foreign odors, dry and cool. A refrigerator is ideal. After two years, the tea leaves will lose most of its taste, so it is advisable to consume it during this time.
Indian tea with an elephant on the packaging
Everyone who was born in the USSR remembers Indian tea, the packaging of which featured an elephant. But can tea leaves with an elephant on the packaging be called truly Indian?
Despite the confident name of this product - “Indian tea”, it still cannot be called as such. This is a blend of several varieties, differing in place of growth and harvest time. In most cases, the mixture included varieties from India and Georgia, but sometimes other species were added. The main variety used for the Indian part is Darjeeling.
Indian tea Soviet era
It was possible to purchase tea of the first or highest grade. This tea with an elephant became for many one of the symbols of the USSR era, and it is still present in the nostalgic memories of people who were born and lived at that time on the territory of the great power.
Indian
From black tea you can make the famous Indian drink– masala. In legends, the origin of this tea is attributed to different regions: Thailand or India. It appeared a very long time ago - approximately 3000 BC. The ingredients of masala at that time were different from today.
Tea with masala spices
The modern composition of the drink became such when Great Britain established the production of black tea in the state of Assam. It was then that it became a classic:
- strong black tea;
- milk;
- spices;
- sugar.
In those years, masala was distributed only among people with high incomes, since tea was not affordable for ordinary people. It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that local residents began to actively drink both of these drinks.
The effect of Indian masala tea on the body
As for the effect of Indian on humans, its benefits are obvious. Black tea itself has a beneficial effect on health due to vitamins and essential oils. It contains caffeine and tannins, which normalize the work of cardio-vascular system, which have antispasmodic and vasodilating effects. Theotanine has a beneficial effect on gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the drink tones, improves mood and productivity.
The benefits of milk are well known. Great amount calcium, fluorine, phosphorus, protein, and other vitamins and microelements - all this is in milk. Spices have a separate role in tea. Each of them has its own set useful properties, so the overall impact will depend on their quantity and the composition of the spice mix.
Composition of Indian masala tea
The drink has classic composition components, and each of them has certain requirements.
- tea . For masala in India, strictly black tea is used. The infusion should be very strong. Sometimes, instead of tea, rooibos is added - a caffeine-free plant that, in a sense, replaces tea;
- milk. In those countries of the world where masala is consumed, skimmed pasteurized milk is usually used. Soy is often used. It has become fashionable to replace milk with ice cream to create cold Indian masala tea. But in India itself, only unpasteurized milk is used;
- spices. Traditional masala includes cardamom, cloves, ginger and other freshly ground spices. This is the only way to achieve the characteristic taste and aroma of the drink. In some tea establishments in Europe and Russia, spices are replaced with syrups and liquid concentrates, which differ from natural spices only in their taste and semblance of smell. Masala with their addition will not be as tasty and healthy as the real thing;
- sugar. Most often, regular refined sugar or honey is used to sweeten masala. But in India itself they only use cane sugar jaggery. It is completely different from white sugar, and is ideal for making masala.
Masala tea recipe
Lovers of Indian tea should think about making masala at home - the recipe is accessible and simple. There are two classic recipes.
Recipe 1
Includes:
- 400 ml water;
- 200 ml milk (or more if you want a thick drink);
- 4 tbsp. l. tea leaves;
- sugar;
- spices: 2 cloves, cardamom, black pepper. 1 piece star anise. Half a small spoon of fennel. 5 g ginger. A little bit nutmeg. Half a cinnamon stick.
Grind using a coffee grinder. Tea and milk are boiled together. It is recommended to add spices after the tea boils and the saucepan is removed from the heat. But the masala is not ready yet - you need to leave it for 15 minutes, strain, and only then drink it with pleasure.
Recipe 2
Another popular recipe is also:
- 1 liter of water;
- 50 g of tea leaves;
- 600 ml milk;
- 100 grams of honey;
- spices: 4 cinnamon sticks, 10 cloves, 5 grams each of vanilla and cardamom.
There is no need to grind spices for this cooking method. They are simply placed together in a gauze bag and tied.
Water is poured into a saucepan and the spices in the bag are lowered into the liquid. It is advisable to attach the knot so that it can be easily removed later. After boiling, the spices are “cooked” for another 10 minutes. The tea leaves are added when the pan is removed from the heat. In this case, the drink is infused for 5 minutes, after which the bag can be removed. Honey and milk are added before consumption.
Green Indian tea
In addition to black tea, tea is grown in the northern part of India. It is not popular with locals and is only produced for export or for tourists. Green tea is produced on several plantations:
- Garhwal, Almore, Dehra Dun. Tea grown in these areas can be identified by the small size of the leaves as well as their hardness. At the same time, tea varieties are considered medium or low. It is produced for Tibet and Nepal;
- Kagry Valley. The tea grown here is quite tasty. It is similar in many characteristics to Chinese varieties and is exported to Afghanistan and Pakistan;
- Darjeeling. Not only black tea is grown in this state, but also green tea. Despite the small volume of the harvest, it is valued much higher than others;
- Ranchi. Tea is produced here Chinese varieties. Of course, it cannot compare in quality with real Chinese, but it is quite strong and tasty.
Tea picking in India
White Indian tea
White Indian tea is very rare and valuable, and grows only in the state of Darjeeling. For collection, a fine spring day is chosen, when the sun is not too hot. Collection is done manually. In this case, only the first leaves and buds are selected. The small amount of harvest is explained by the fact that there cannot be many young shoots.
U white tea There is a way of preparing it that is different from brewing black tea. For one cup of drink you will need 1 teaspoon of leaves.
It is important! Under no circumstances should you pour boiling water over tender leaves! This will completely kill the taste and aroma. For brewing, water at a temperature of up to 80 ° C is traditionally used.
White tea is characterized by a delicate cream color, spicy taste with a light interweaving of fruits and flowers. The drink is especially appreciated by tea lovers for its long, pleasant aftertaste.
White Indian tea
Indian tea, despite the fact that it is valued lower than Chinese tea, has intense taste properties. It has a lot of fans all over the world, and it is available even to those who cannot afford expensive varieties. If you get tired of regular black or green tea, you can treat yourself to a masala drink, which became famous thanks to India and local tea.
India - a mysterious country, a historical center trade routes, home to ancient civilizations, unique cultures and different religions. It attracts historians, archaeologists and scientists like a magnet, making them admire its difference from other countries in Europe and the whole world. One of the main stages of Indian history is occupied by the magnificent, fragrant, invigorating tea. Indian tea is known all over the world; it is drunk in Russia, America, and Ukraine. Today, most countries of the world have become developed and independent, but now you won’t see long queues near store shelves, you won’t see a lot of the same things, and you won’t even remember the shortage. But just recently, about 20-25 years ago, this chaos was happening on every street in the country. People stood in line for days, buying clothes and food, going wild. There was no talk of a deficit yet. In the early 70s of the last century, the USSR was exactly like that.
Many people remember and sometimes miss Soviet times and products. After all, they were really high quality. Imported products were no exception. Very often people talk about Indian tea with an elephant on a yellow packet. This was the first Indian tea brought to the USSR. Until this time, the domestic brand was Georgian tea of the highest quality. In the 70s, the tea industry began to move from manual to machine work. Quality Georgian tea fell catastrophically. The Soviet tea industry suffered losses. In addition, the country fell out with its only importer, China, but established ties with other countries in which the tea industry was ideally developed. In addition, India, Tanzania, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Kenya were friendly to our system and policy. At first, imported tea was mixed with low-quality Georgian tea and passed it off as domestic. For some time, this scam worked well and brought good profits. And then the same Indian tea, which over time became a symbol of the Soviet system, came first.
Tea was imported into the USSR in bulk, and only then packaged in packs. Colorful, bright packs attracted citizens to try the wonderful Indian drink. The color of the pack depended on the type of tea packaged. The highest grade of tea was packaged in a yellow box, and the first grade was packaged in green and red boxes. Despite the country's regime, it was often possible to buy a fake on the store counter, which included Indian, Georgian, Madagascar and Ceylon teas. Therefore, elephant tea was bought only in cases where the elephant’s trunk was raised up. The tea in this package was considered real. Soon both the trunk and the tea itself disappeared. They began to import it less frequently, and where it appeared, it was immediately dismantled. Then the favorite Indian tea was replaced by Turkish tea. Today, tea with an elephant is called “the same tea,” but has little in common with tea from Soviet times.
-Where do you have tea?
- To the left, the whole department. You'll see right away.
It's easy to say. Having looked into a large supermarket in Delhi, I rummaged through several shelves before I came across the loose-leaf black tea I had been accustomed to since childhood. It is not surprising - after all, the tea drinking culture in India is different from what we are used to. Instant (!) is popular - yes, like coffee - tea, which is poured with boiling water, as well as the “granulated version” - leaves rolled into hard balls. “Normal” tea as we understand it is not easy to find in India. In the mornings they drink masala tea with milk from glass glasses ( harmful influence British colonialists) and masala spices containing pepper and spices. You swallow such “happiness”, and your tongue burns - so sharply. But that's okay. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, where many Tibetans live, they prefer tea with yak butter and... powder from dried chicken. A drink and breakfast at the same time. Some tribes (in particular, the Gurkhas) do not brew anything at all, but simply chew tea leaves with... garlic. In general, the naive idea of India as a tea country collapses from the very first days of your stay.
Only women's fingers
“Extensive tea plantations appeared in India only in 1856 - seedlings were brought from China by English planters,” explains one of the tea businessmen Abdul-Wahid Jamarati. - Before this, only wild varieties grew here. Now tea is grown in three mountainous regions. In the northeast of India - in Darjeeling and Assam, as well as in the south - Nilgiri tea is produced there. Cool weather and frequent rain are necessary for flavor: the leaves love to absorb moisture. Most aromatic tea They are collected only by hand and only by women (their salary is approximately 5 thousand rubles per month in Russian money. - Author): men's fingers are rougher and cannot pinch off the youngest shoots - flushes. During machine harvesting, everything is cut off, which is why such varieties are cheap: experts cynically call them a broom. Personally, I am an ardent fan of the tea that is harvested in Darjeeling between February and May, it has a very bright and rich taste. By the way, never buy tea at bazaars, where it is poured into open bags and kept in the open air all day. The aroma of such a leaf disappears: it turns into chopped hay. I was in Russia and saw that you are storing leaves incorrectly. The tea should be placed in the refrigerator, at a temperature of +8°, so it concentrates its qualities. Don't keep it in a paper box, best option- an ordinary glass jar."
The most aromatic tea is collected only by hand and only by women. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Darjeeling plantations are mesmerizing - huge mountains covered with green tea bushes. My guide, 28-year-old Lakshmi from Tamil Nadu, assures me that she is happy with the position: “It’s not like mining coal at the damn depths of a mine.” She considers herself a professional in the tea business, since she is able to collect 80 kg (!) of leaves per day. The machine, by the way, collects 1.5 tons, but it is very fine: you and I later drink this dust when brewing tea bags. Rubbing the tender leaves with your fingers tea bush, Lakshmi reports: they regrow in two weeks, and in a year one plant can accumulate 70 kg of tea (2.5 times more in Assam). True, now some land owners are planting artificially bred varieties - the taste is not great, but they can harvest 100 kilos in six months. Alas, there are plenty of different tea scams in India.
For example, in the surrounding shops empty jars and packs with the inscription “Elite” or “Select” are freely sold, and unscrupulous traders fill them with cheap varieties: after all, abroad only highly experienced tasters can determine the quality of tea.
What's in the brew?
“Unfortunately, small companies often butcher good tea,” they tell me at the plantation. “They throw in cheap versions of Kenyan or Malaysian stuff, stamp it “Made in India” - and the pack goes to the international market.” Darjeeling could not estimate exactly how much fake tea is sold in Russia. The British (and in Britain they love Indian tea no less than here) carefully monitor quality and strictly check suppliers. Do they do this here?
“Frankly, even the tea that the USSR bought could hardly be called Indian,” says businessman Vijay Sharma, whose company sold tea to the Soviet Union in the late 1970s. - It was a blend, a mixture. Depending on the variety in the famous Soviet times In a packet with an image of an elephant, the share of tea from India was only 15-25%. The main filler (more than 50%) was Georgian leaf. And even now things are not going too well. I tried tea from sellers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, it turned out that they had no idea what period of collection (the taste depends on this) of Darjeeling. And what’s more, “Nilgiri” tea is often sold here as “elite”, although in India it is the cheapest, a drink for the poor, and it is what is packaged in bags. In some places, Indonesian or Vietnamese tea was sold under the guise of Indian.”
Cup of red pepper
I order tea at street cafe in Delhi. It is usually prepared in an iron kettle (or even in a saucepan) on open fire. The leaves are sometimes boiled immediately in milk (at the client’s request) or in water, after adding cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and chili pepper. In general, from the outside it looks like making soup. A glass costs 15 rupees (13.5 rubles). The taste is something strange, and they pour in almost ten spoons of sugar: in India they adore it to the extreme sweet tea. I ask you to brew black Assam leaves without milk and spices. The waiter appears with a glass of steaming tea and... places a jug of milk next to it. "For what?! I asked…” “Sir,” his voice sounds with obvious pity. “But it won’t taste good to you!”
To summarize, I will say: the supply of Indian tea to our country is still chaotic, sellers have little understanding of the varieties or are openly fantasizing, pushing low-quality tea leaves from other countries to the Russian consumer. I’m generally silent about the price - in India tea costs 130 rubles. per kilo, we can sell it for a thousand. It's a pity. Indian varieties, especially Darjeeling, are excellent, and our business needs to work directly with India for a long time, and not buy tea at exorbitant prices through Europe and dubious small companies in India. This way it will be cheaper for us and, most importantly, tastier.
The shelves of modern stores are literally bursting with boxes, jars, and bottles of tea. Drinks for every taste, color, smell and budget. However, people of the older generation still remember tea “with an elephant”, claiming that it is not better to find. CDI studied tea assortment Pskov stores, asked for the opinion of experts and found out whether high-quality tea was sold in our city.
Anecdote on topic
Conversation for family tea party:
- The same taste!
- The same tea!
- The same pack that fell over gas stove in '89!
Unpretentious Soviet citizens savored Indian tea “with an elephant” - and they really remember that it was good! The scarce box was taken out when guests arrived, and for every day they were content with Georgian - although the second grade resembled sawdust in both appearance and taste.
Today, during any commercial break, we are shown a beautiful large kitchen and the whole family over a cup of tea. Steam rises from the cups that line the table of connoisseurs of the country's most popular intellectual show. And in any store, even the smallest one, there is, as they say, an assortment of tea. What can we say about hypermarkets, where long shelves are reserved for this product. In addition to the standard black and green, there are always drinks with a variety of additives on sale. If just a few years ago the choice of such flavors was small - strawberry, berries, lemon, black currant and some others, now the supply is literally off scale. Tiramisu, cupcakes, creme brulee... There seems to be no need to buy dessert to go with your drink. It seems that in just a little while, tea with the taste of borscht or roast will appear on the shelves.
As a rule, packaged tea is placed on the most prominent shelves. By the way, previously tea bags were made exclusively from paper, which was not in the best possible way affects the taste, so some manufacturers have switched to transparent nylon - it has virtually no effect on taste qualities drink
As for the price of tea, in most cases it is a reflection of the quality of the product. Good tea a priori cannot be cheap. It’s another matter when you have to overpay for a well-promoted brand. In large stores, the cheapest tea is usually at the very bottom - whoever needs it will find it.
Professional look
Tea is a luxury item, Denis Shumakov, a Pskov tea expert with 20 years of experience, is sure. “You can feel love or affection for this drink, develop a habit of it, or, God forbid, develop a psychological dependence on it. But in the overwhelming majority of cases, we drink tea not because it is vital for us, but for some other reason. Most often – for pleasure,” says the expert..
At the same time, he is confident that tea is an affordable luxury. After all, in terms of liters finished product tea is a very cheap drink. This means only one thing - tea should be treated lightly, as idle fun.
“Any stress on the quality of tea, as well as categorical statements like “I only drink this kind of tea”, “I’m not a sucker for drinking tea with Russian letters on the label”, “My friends in China drink only this kind of tea”, “There is tea in this store directly from the plantations, and in supermarkets there is only junk”, “Tea cannot be brewed with boiling water” and others are a little unnatural,” says Denis Shumakov. — Tea is most often cheap, if you don’t like it, you can simply put it in the far corner (you don’t need to drink tea you don’t like, we are not mice, and tea is not a cactus) and buy a new pack. Well, that is, purchasing bad tea - even if this tea was bought in Kathmandu and brought home as a rare specialty - is not a reason for frustration.”
Besides, everyone has different tastes. And despite the fact that there are objective criteria for tea quality, very different teas can have these qualities.
“The quality of tea depends not only on what kind of tea is purchased in the store, but also on how this tea is brewed,” says Denis Shumakov. — Of course, it’s quite difficult to make candy out of obviously bad tea using various brewing tricks. As well as accidentally ruining very good tea. But you can significantly influence the quality of the drink by choosing water, brewing mode, quality of glassware and all sorts of other methods. Therefore, when buying good tea in a store or ordering good tea in a restaurant, you need to be prepared for man-made surprises of varying degrees of pleasantness. Especially tough surprises can happen in catering, where the crooked hands of the staff can work wonders with tea. This is why the vast majority of restaurants prefer not to deal with really good tea, giving preference to teas that are simple, persistent and with good marketing support.”
Raid on Pskov shops
Imperial
Perhaps, Imperial offers the widest selection of tea - from the cheapest to expensive varieties And gift packaging. One gets the feeling that you definitely won’t be able to try the entire assortment of a hypermarket in a year. Especially considering the fact that periodically new varieties and types of the drink are presented to the people of Pskov.
The first thing that catches your eye is the large selection of Ahmad. 100-gram gift tubes cost significantly more than 100 rubles, but London is listed as the manufacturer on the packaging. For “Akhmad” in a smart tin 100-gram package you will have to pay about 200 rubles. “Akhmad” in ordinary cardboard boxes is cheaper, and the “assembly” address already indicates Mytishchi near Moscow. Tea connoisseurs claim that before the appearance of “Akhmad” in the geography of Mytishchi, tea was much better.
For “Akhmad” in a beautiful 100-gram package you will have to pay about 200 rubles.
Another clear leader in terms of tea rack space at Imperial is the Lipton brand. Lipton pyramids look at least stylish and presentable - appearance boxes clearly contributes to just such a perception. But this is if you don’t read the composition carefully - a flavor identical to natural is found in almost every type of tea. High-quality tea does not need any taste adjustment - a truth that everyone understands.
Tea not produced in Russia is marked with special inscriptions at Imperial, for example, “grown and packaged in Sri Lanka”, “tea from Italy”, “packed in the UAE” and others.
Especially for gourmets - signs to where the tea is packaged
In Sri Lanka, in particular, some types of Heilis tea were packaged. A 100-gram tube of this tea will cost 120-130 rubles.
As for the composition, Greenfield tea (Russian-made, despite the foreign name) turned out to be very laconic and correct. And the tea bags of this brand are made correctly, as experts advise - each bag is packed in individual foil.
The packaging of Dilma tea is outwardly very revealing - it says in large letters that the large-leaf tea is grown and packaged in Ceylon. And as proof, there is a small window in the pack through which you can estimate the size of the tea leaf. Everything would be fine, but light has a detrimental effect on tea, so such a demonstration is most likely unnecessary.
The lowest shelves in Imperial are occupied by tea. brands“Conversation”, all “princesses”, “Akbar” and other budget teas. They are produced in most cases at factories in Moscow or Leningrad regions from small long tea.
Also at Imperial there is a special tea department of the Russian Tea Company. The choice of tea here is also large, you can buy any by weight. The price depends on the type of tea and starts from 65 rubles. I will say right away that it is very difficult for an inexperienced tea drinker to navigate here. “I want” wakes up when you look at the very first jar, and the number of these same “I want” increases with each subsequent package. It's simple - the tin cans are very colorful, and the names of the teas are extremely tasty.
"Cart"
Three segments of a long shelf are reserved for tea. At eye level, in the most advantageous positions - mostly tea bags - an impressive assortment, dozens of flavor variations, pleasant names, bright packaging. The selection of brewed tea did not seem that impressive. Of course, for women's holidays, gift options were placed in the top places, that is, next to the tea bags. The picture of teas with foreign names, but packaged in their native Russia, is diluted by an elegant “doll” collection of Riston teas manufactured and packaged in Sri Lanka - “Camilla”, “Charlotte”, “Margaret” and others will cost 275 rubles for 125 grams.
Basilur (Sri Lanka) is in different variations– from packaged in a cardboard bag (“Seasons”, 100 g, 121.70 rubles) to enclosed in a beautiful tin box, albeit with a winter landscape (100 g, about 300 rubles)
A good discount on Burnley - with a card, 100 g will cost 33.18 rubles. Green Burnley costs about 60 rubles. Great offer - three Ahmad teas " English tradition» in one package – 91.90 each for card holders. Well, the cheapest tea – “Ceylon” – costs only 19.60 rubles in the “Trolley”.
"Magnet"
Tea at Magnit is not very good - better than in supermarkets, but worse than in other Pskov hypermarkets. Two compartments of the rack, a lot of budget “Princess Nuri”, “Conversation”, “Maisky” and other inexpensive teas.
Of course, all the decent places are occupied by bagged tea, and to find, say, brewed Greenfield (47-58 rubles 100 g), you have to bend over.
Teas packaged outside of Russia are an exception here. So this very exception is packaged in India." English breakfast» Newby – 241.10 rub. per 100 g, “Heylis” (Sri Lanka) in a tube (melissa, mint 124 rubles per 100 g). They also discovered “Zhen Shen” - tea harvested and packaged in China, “in a high-tech zone,” or so it says on the packaging.
The most expensive tea at Magnit turned out to be the gift Hilltop “English Box” with different types tea and a strainer. Beauty manufacturer - Mozhaisk Tea Company.
Supermarkets “Pyaterochka”, “Free Merchant”, “Horo”, “Dixie”
The choice of tea in supermarkets is banal - as long as there is some. Moreover, the dependence is very direct - the smaller the store, the poorer the choice. As a rule, the most budget teas are in favor - “Maysky”, “Princesses”, “Conversation” and others. For variety - Burnley, Greenfield, Tess and Akbar.
"Tea house"
There is everything a tea and coffee lover needs - that is, a variety of brands and varieties of tea and coffee, in factory packaging and in bulk (tea), as well as accessories for making drinks.
The teas are on display, limited from the buyer by a counter. The absence of the principle of self-service is unusual for the buyer. Beginners will have to follow the advice of sellers, and tea gourmets, as far as I understand, are well versed in the offer even without this. And they praise the choice.
Prices for tea by weight start on average from 120-150 rubles per 100 g.
"Pu'er"
Atmospheric shop with black and green tea, both pure and with natural flavors in the composition. The choice seemed simpler than in the Tea House. There is a pleasant area for tea drinking. You can buy teapots, mugs, bowls here. Tea prices also start from 70-80 rubles per 100 g.
Professional look
Specialized tea shops in Lately are becoming increasingly popular among Pskov residents. We asked Denis Shumakov how attractive these stores are for tea gourmets.
“There are several places in Pskov where you can buy tea with complete peace of mind,” the tea expert is sure. “This doesn’t mean that all the tea in these places is good; there’s plenty of nonsense there too.” But you can buy quite decent tea there.”
According to Denis Shumakov, on the shelves of the Imperial hypermarket, among incredible amount In jars and boxes you can find good tea, “even with some terroir characteristics.” It is also convenient to choose tea gifts there, provided that the packaging of these gifts is more important than their contents. “First of all, it makes sense to pay attention to teas of the brands Ahmad, Greenfield, Basilur - especially unflavored ones,” the expert advises.
Denis Shumakov considers the most tea shop in Pskov to be the shop at the intersection of M. Gorky and R. Luxemburg streets. “New interesting positions are constantly appearing there. The last time I was there, there was a very interesting collection. Kenyan tea, noted Denis Shumakov. — The tea shop on the second floor of Maximus, as far as I know, belongs to the same owners as the tea kiosk in Imperial. And, as in Imperial, it first of all makes sense to pay attention to the pressed pu-erh. IN tea department The House of Trade on Fabricius presents a traditional Chinese assortment for modern tea boutique trade with small Indian-Ceylon inclusions.”
Denis Shumakov spoke very reservedly about the assortment of tea in the Puer store on the Four Corners. “The selection of tea in the store is very modest, but it is cozy, there are clearings for drinking tea and very friendly staff. Despite the fact that the pseudo-Chinese tea-club aesthetic has lost its appeal for me a long time ago, sometimes I want to sit on all fours and drink tea,” the expert noted.
Denis Shumakov is sure that there are enough tea shops in Pskov to regularly provide yourself with good tea. Especially if you follow three simple rules:
- give preference to tea in factory packaging and be sure to ensure that it has labels in Russian;
- ignore as much as possible flavored tea, especially those sold by weight. Tea with perverse names (“The Emperor’s Mistress,” “A Thousand and One Nights,” and so on) should immediately raise alarm bells.
— always keep several teas at home so you can drink and compare.
By the way, Pskov catering is not very concerned about the quality of tea. “I know only two establishments where they pay for tea worthy of attention, - said Denis Shumakov. — These are “Velvet” and “U Pokrovka”. Velvet has a weak basic tea selection, but they are willing to experiment with local herbs, which makes up for any problems with the rest of the tea list. I myself had a little hand in the tea menu at Pokrovka and, of course, am biased in my assessments. But the card is still very strong."
At the same time, Denis Shumakov noted that he himself almost never buys tea in Pskov. “This is not due to snobbery, but simply due to the fact that I almost always have a lot of good tea“, a tea expert shared with CDI.
Happy tea drinking!
Tatiana Bogacheva
03/13/2014 CDI, Pskov
Now let's think about tea. What does our unknown cretin author write about Soviet tea? And this is what he writes:
There were several types of popular teas in the USSR, but Indian tea with elephant was the most famous and beloved. That is why it became one of the symbols Soviet Union. Indian tea was imported to the USSR in bulk and packaged in small packs of yellow and red-green cardboard. The packs also featured an elephant with its trunk raised up. This tea was very popular among Soviet people, so it quickly sold out in stores.
Of course, this tea was popular and quickly sold out, since it was the only one that really looked like tea.
Oh where are you lovers quality tea, where are you, fans of pu-erh and oolong, Darjeeling and white tea from tips? Yes, that there are puerhs, today we will be satisfied with the opinion of unpretentious fans of “Greenfield”, “Brooke Bond” and even “Vysokogorny”.
Because, excuse me, even they would not drink the Indian hour with an elephant, but would frown their brows and look in surprise at what was popularly considered very good tea in Soviet times.
In general, there were two types of Indian with elephant - in square packs and in oblong ones. For some reason unknown to science, the tea in the large oblong packs was several times inferior to that in the square ones - and there was no less straw in it than in the most popular tea of the USSR - Georgian No. 36. The most popular - because it was the one that was sold completely freely, without queues and without problems. And the long one could also meet with the bishop more often than the square one.
There was a story going around for a while - a commission arrived at the Irkutsk tea-packing factory to check what was going on there, since the quality of tea in square packs had sharply deteriorated. They walked and walked around, but didn’t find anything - they said everything was fine. About a month passed and - hop! The tea has returned to its previous acceptable quality. How did this happen? And, they said that the prisoners wrote to the director of the factory.
Probably not everyone knows why prisoners were so concerned about the quality of this particular type of tea? Yes, it’s simple - it was real currency in the zone, because it was from it that chifir was cooked. Only from him. Therefore, every parcel sent to the zone certainly contained at least several of these packs.
And the Indian tea - yes, it was sold out quickly. And in grocery “orders” it was a desired product.
And this is the same Georgian No. 36. If anyone doesn’t understand what “fine baikhovy” is, I’ll explain - it’s essentially tea dust.
Below is also Georgian, but better quality.
And here is a kind of hierarchy of teas. At the top of the pyramid is the famous Krasnodar, which really was the best. But it was somehow not possible for mere mortals to get it, in any case, Sanka never saw it on sale in his life, just like the yellow Ceylon, which is presented here on the second level of the pyramid. And here premium An Indian (the highest, Karl! and not with an elephant!!!) came across.
I hope everyone knows that the people in our country have a sharp and precise tongue.
So, the first grade teas were called “with wood”, the second grade teas were called “from a broom”.
Naturally, they received this name for a reason, but because large pieces"wood" (apparently cut directly from the branches) in tea. And for the delightful broom taste and smell. Really broom - here the people did not bend their souls at all, and the comparison was not a metaphor. In addition, it was also brewed monstrously poorly - who knows what kind of hellish rage was there...
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