To have people over once in a month in my home for try teas from other countries has been a dream in the making for the last few years.
I decided this was the year. And I decided to go all in!! I want this to be a fun, relaxing, encouraging, educational, and entertaining time with old friends and new ones. I want anyone who wants to come to come and drink tea!!
I was ready to have friends over for my first ever, Passport to Tea 2023. January we visited Russia. I was going to share 4 kinds of Russian Teas.
I purchased 3 Caravan teas...they are called Caravan teas because in the 18th century teas was brought from Asia to Russia by camel caravan. The tea is smokey and mimics the dusty, smokiness of the caravan travel.
The last tea I purchased was from Georgia- a country that was once part of Russia.
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Georgian Tea was nice. Not smokey. But, we did enjoy it.
This tea from Mahamosa Tea Bar, was the most popular tea of the day.
This tea from Ohio Tea was the most smokey- and that would be the lapsang tea. A classic smoked black tea, made with a blend of Keemun, Lapsang and Assam.
This was a Sweet Russian Caravan Tea from Simple Loose Leaf. This tea is a mix of sweet China and strong Indian tea.
I had only one real Samovar. But, I created 3 other Samovars with teapots that I already had.
I had fun putting the "table" together. I tried to stay Russian with the decor, but I did use my french plates. I found these 12 floral plates from France at a Goodwill for .25 a piece.
I ordered the traditional cups from Ukraine. I enjoyed helping some people in Ukraine as well as having traditional cups. Part of the Passport to Tea 2023 is using traditional items- I want people to get the feel that they are in cafe in the country that we are "visiting". I want people to come away with some great tea and cool educational facts.
I also have Passports for everyone attending. They will get a Russian flag for their passports too.
I put 4 heaping teaspoons into the smaller tea pot with around a 1 C to 2 C of hot water to make the concentrate. I let the tea steep for over 2 hours.
I had so much fun making these teas and preparing for this tea. I loved studying the Russian Tea culture and learning about some of their fun traditions. I also watched lots of You Tube Russian tea videos to prepare. I found it super helpful. I also had a friend who lived in Russia as a missionary, so she helped answer questions for me too.
I had some non-traditional treats too.
(on a side note, I painted some Russian Nesting Dolls- too...each doll is holding a tea cup too)
Nesting dolls are called matryoshka
Here are the tops of my nesting dolls.
I had lemons, milk, sugar, honey, and blueberry jam to try with the tea. I read that some people drink tea with sugar cubes between their front teeth. Some take spoonfuls of jam, some add lemon, some add milk, etc. So, as we drank the tea we tried it a bunch of different ways. That was fun too.
These were homemade Samovars. They worked really well!! I do have to say that you need to put the tea kettle lid on the big tea kettle when you pour the hot water on the concentrate or you will get burned by the steam.
Today is the day...and in January you never know what you will get- but the weather was great!! I salted the steps just to be sure though. I love that the weather did not stop the party!!
The Kettle is On sign is out and the tea light is on in the window- let the guests arrive.
I had 9 guests. It was like my worlds were colliding...people from so many aspects of my life. One of my best friends from high school and her mom came. My mom. One of my best friends from church and one of my best friends from work her mom. Then also a new friend and her daughter and her daughters friend.
There were lots of laughter and slurping happening. I had a blast!!!
A dear, sweet lady from my church passed away- and her daughters gave me her tea kettle...I used it for this tea. It was super special to have Carolyn's Tea pot!
I also taught some Russian words while we were together too.
Russian tea words...
Samovar-double teapot
Stakan- glass
Podstakannik- metal cup holder
Zavarka- Russian Tea Concentrate
Kipyatok- boiling hot water
The word for tea in Russian sounds like CHJA
The jam from France was a huge hit too! It had chunks of blueberries in it. It was sweet and delicious.
These teas last around an hour and are meant to be laid back and fun. The Russian tea was $5 a person. This tea or aspects of this tea can be added to your home party if you would like.
February 4, 2023 is China.
The 11am seating is sold out, but I do have some seat available for the 9 am seating.
Each seat is $5.
Everyone gets a passport and a Chinese flag for attending to put in their passport.
You will get to see a traditional eastern style Gong Fun Tea ceremony. I also have Gaiwans for everyone to use. You will get to try 3 or 4 different kinds of tea.
March will be make your own Chai from India
April will be Milk Tea from Hong Kong
May will be Matcha from Japan
June will be Bubble Tea from Taiwan
July will be Dominican Republic
August will be Morrocan
September will be Turkey
October will be Attaya tea from Guinea
November will be Thailand
December will be an English Tea
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