By Carl MydansLIFE Photo Collection
40 cups a day
The border town of Kyakhta, now part of Buryatia, historically straddled the major caravan way from Russia to China. The most prominent among imported goods was tea.
Much of it went to Central Russia, but a significant portion would end up in Siberia.
Suffragette Garden Party (c.1910)Original Source: LSE Library
As a result, by the late 19th century, Siberians had become the Russian Empire's foremost tea drinkers with some downing 40 cups a day, according to personal accounts, which, even if exaggerated, testify still to rather substantial consumption.
By John DominisLIFE Photo Collection
The practice has not waned, but the cheaper green tea bricks have lost in popularity to loose-leaf black varieties.
Kalach by Proximity RussiaFederal Agency for Tourism
"Frog Swamp"
The largest and most expensive tea service belonging to the Russian imperial family can be seen at the Hermitage.
Catherine the Great commissioned it from the English firm Wedgwood and Sons for her summer palace, built in a place called Kekerekeksinen, after the Finnish for “frog swamp.”
Porcelain by cottonbro at PexelsFederal Agency for Tourism
Almost 1000 items are illustrated with English castles, parks, gardens, abbeys, palaces, and estates. None of the illustrations are repeated, but each one includes a frog.
This is why the tea service was called the “service with the green frog.”
Сhief Сonsultant — Ekaterina Drozdova, restaurateur, gastronomic entrepreneur, food and social activist, Photo production — tm agency, Contributors — Proximity Russia, Denis Yershov, Alexandra Grigoryeva
