The Russian method of brewing

[Yakubovich]

I'm curious whether anyone here brews black tea the Russian way. That is, brewing a large amount of leaves for a long time to form zavarka, and then diluting it with boiling water before drinking.

It's a very different method from what's usually suggested here, and results in a different taste. I like using this method sometimes.

Mod edit by Chip: I fixed your link coding for you.

[Vulture]

WARNING:

Never drink the zavarka undiluted. It has a strong narcotic effect, causing intense heartbeat, hallucinations and restlessness.

This must be outdated...I would call this narcotic 'Caffeine' and overbrewing that much tea might have give it a lot of it.

This is such a piece of Baloney. The writer speaks of tea as if it was only one type and expects it to be the same color? I don't think it will have much an impact on the tea taste to brew it concentrated then dilute it afterward. If you want something like that, start going Kung Fu. Small brewing vessle, lots of leaf, little bit of water.

[Chip]

Isn't that a little rough, Vulture? I might not want to brew this way (but it would be interesting to see it done first hand, like the Japanese Tea Ceremony), but I am intriged by the brewing practices of different cultures.

This method likely came into being for some reason, possibly the resources at hand and the tea available, similarly for many brewing methods. Consider the way Moraccan Mint is brewed and then poured high above the cup, Chai brewing, etc. All interesting and not all baloney simply because it is different.

It is important to keep an open mind to new or simply different concepts when it comes to TEA. Otherwise, perhaps we would all brew "western style" or worse, the American tradtional Lipton teabag.

Just sayin' ...

[Bubba_tea]

I wish I kept the post, but Russian Soul on the boards here posted a story about how they would brew tea in the old days on the trains in Russia. It was a great story... wish I could remember where it was...

[Chip]

Yeah, that was a nice tale. We should search for it.

And found it...

Back in old Russia long-long time ago most travel was done by train - your old trusty locomotive and sleeper cars. Every car had an attendant in uniform and an attendant’s little compartment that was almost entirely occupied by a five-foot tall samovar heated by coal. Those samovars were at least 3 feet in diameter.

The tea that came out of them was almost thick, dark red-brown, mahogany maybe, rich, slightly smoky with notes of molasses. It was a blend that was called Krasnodar Tea or some-such, but everyone called it the Railroad Tea, because you couldn’t get it anywhere else but the railroad. It was probably a blend of low end Ceylon and Lapsang Souchong with a whole bunch of junk mixed in, it could have been anything - from birds’ poop to potato peelings. I don’t know for sure what it was, but Russian liked to add junk to stuff for bulk.

This tea was divine. It was served in clear glasses set in metal glass holders and accompanied by unrefined yellow sugar cubes. The glass would rattle and clink in the glass holder, the aroma would rise filling the compartment, the dreary landscape washed with perpetual rain would pass by the window. Ahh, the old days… You’d drink your tea and read Chekov.

I was not able to find a similar tea since. Russian Caravan is not even close, Russian Samovar from Gschwendner does not cut it, Russian Tzar is too Earl Grey. The closest in taste and aroma that I found is Queen Victoria's Original 1876 Blend from Todd&Holland ($30 for ¼ pound!), I am sure that’s not the one they served.

And that’s my story for today.

[Yakubovich]

This must be outdated...I would call this narcotic 'Caffeine' and overbrewing that much tea might have give it a lot of it.

The high you get from concentrated tea comes from caffeine and theanine, but it's obviously different from the high you get from coffee. Highly concentrated tea has been (and still is) commonly used as a drug in Russian prisons.

This warning is a bit inaccurate though. The zavarka used for this purpose is much more concentrated than what is used when just drinking tea. Regular, undiluted zavarka just tastes like bitter tea.

The writer speaks of tea as if it was only one type and expects it to be the same color?

This doesn't seem to be written by a tea connoisseur, just by someone who is familiar with the Russian tradition of brewing tea. He only mentions one colour because for the longest time, there have only been only two types of teas available in Russia, one from India and one from Georgia, both of them black and with a similar colour.

This is such a piece of Baloney. I don't think it will have much an impact on the tea taste to brew it concentrated then dilute it afterward. If you want something like that, start going Kung Fu. Small brewing vessle, lots of leaf, little bit of water.

If you said that this would make tea taste worse I would understand, but saying that such a drastically different method of brewing has absolutely no impact on taste is the same as saying that steeping times and water temperature don't make any difference. It's absurd.

I don't know what any of this has to do with Kung Fu.

By the way, Russians have been making tea using this method exclusively since the 17th century, and it's a huge part of Russian culture (over 80% of Russians drink tea multiple times a day).

[Bubba_tea]

Yeah, that was a nice tale. We should search for it.

And found it...

There's Chip - the supermod! Thanks Chip!

[Salsero]

There's Chip - the supermod! Thanks Chip!

Mad skilz!

[Vulture]

Isn't that a little rough, Vulture? I might not want to brew this way (but it would be interesting to see it done first hand, like the Japanese Tea Ceremony), but I am intriged by the brewing practices of different cultures.

Sorry was in Super Critique mode because of stuff at work. I understand the document isn't bad in explaining their brewing method. I was more going after the writing being bad not the tea brewing method.

If you said that this would make tea taste worse I would understand, but saying that such a drastically different method of brewing has absolutely no impact on taste is the same as saying that steeping times and water temperature don't make any difference. It's absurd.

Yah I would have to re say that. I would expect the taste to be worse than other styles of brewing. By overbrewing the tea you get a lot of the bitterness into the tea. You just end up diluting a bad tasting tea. Do they add milk or cream to the teas?

Kung Fu is a forum aka for Gong fu brewing. I saw the Russian brewing style to be a rough version of Gong Fu brewing. Lots of leaf, little bit of water.

[Chip]

If you said that this would make tea taste worse I would understand, but saying that such a drastically different method of brewing has absolutely no impact on taste is the same as saying that steeping times and water temperature don't make any difference. It's absurd.

Yah I would have to re say that. I would expect the taste to be worse than other styles of brewing. By overbrewing the tea you get a lot of the bitterness into the tea. You just end up diluting a bad tasting tea. Do they add milk or cream to the teas?

Kung Fu is a forum aka for Gong fu brewing. I saw the Russian brewing style to be a rough version of Gong Fu brewing. Lots of leaf, little bit of water.

Actually Vulture, few people want to do it, but bitter overbrewed or superconcentrated tea can be diluted to make a good cup. Not my normal practice for hot tea, but it can salvage a cup versus throwing it away. With practice, I would expect this could be pulled off intentionally.

<tangent> I actually brew a concentrate for iced tea. I brew about a quart and add 3 quarts water to make a gallon. The concentrate would taste pretty nasty (especially when I make Japanese), but the diluted tastes wonderful.

[Herb_Master]

Some of the crazy prices for incredibly elaborate and ornate 2 and 3 piece Samovars suggest that some very wealthy people who presumably had refined palates (according to their custom and the age that they lived in) were very fond of this style.

http://shopsamovar.com.ru/samovars.html
That page shows some moderately priced modern samovars, but I get the impression the teapots are a bit large for the urn - maybe the tea is not brewed quite so intense.

But on the Exclusive Samovars page you get creatures like this



a mere $ 9850

[Chip]

Impressive, Herb_Master! At the World Tea Expo, there was one on display by a German company that must have cost about that much, it was huge and impressive in every respect.

[Herb_Master]

Impressive, Herb_Master! At the World Tea Expo, there was one on display by a German company that must have cost about that much, it was huge and impressive in every respect.

Yes when trying out some Kashmiri Chai several months back my researches led me across the border to Afghan and Russian tea making methods.

Soon I was innocently under the impression that I wanted a Samovar

The prices around so many sites I visited were well out of my league! One of the perennial problems with searching for Teaware is that so many mercenary vendors seem to think that if they add the word 'Antique' we will not only be more interested but more keen to pay hugely inflated prices.

When I discovered in some text that there was a German company making them today! I thought "Here we go, realistic prices!" Alas no! Bragging about it's superb precision engineering they are still extremely expensive

[Beidao]

Well, I know this is not the "correct" method, but after I realized how wonderful overbrewed tea could taste if I just put more water in it, I started trying with brewing just a little tea, making it intentionally overbrewed, and then putting in water till it got just the right taste. It does not give a very complex tea, but it is a good way to get control over the brewing, and even if a really skilled gong fu brewer would get better results, I would say it's as good as - and maybe even better than - the usual brewing. Perfect when I don't have time or energy to do a Gong Fu session.

Herb Master: The Kashmiri Chai you tried, was it the pink one with baking soda and salt? If so, I've done it and quite like it.

[Beidao]

Regarding the narcotic effect of overdosed caffeine, it does give these symptoms, and I've heard the hallucinations can be pretty scary. I don't get in what way it should be outdated?