The Samovar – A Russian Teapot
By Jerry C. White

The Samovar

In Russia and Central Asia and Persia, tea is often prepared in a samovar which is an extremely glorified teapot/kettle. Tea made in a samovar will often contain all types of herbs and spices. In days gone by tea in these areas would be also prepared with salt. This seems like an unlikely ingredient but there is some sound reasoning; salt thickens the blood whereas tea thins the blood. From a metabolic point of view the body will lose heat much faster when the blood viscosity is thinner. Blood flows faster when it is thinner and is made more available to vessels in the skin’s surface, so heat lost through the skin is greater when a blood thinner such as tea is taken and can make the drinker feel cooler – one reason it is popular in hot climes. Adding salt and other spices to the tea makes the blood thicker as water is needed in the digestive system to dispose of the salt. Although not recommended for the cardiovascular system, the average Mongolian would get plenty of exercise and not have to worry too much about the extra salt causing vascular problems like people of today. Back in the day when Europe first experienced tea, it was suggested to them that they may like to drink tea made with salt, butter and some other unlikely ingredients. This way of taking tea did not prove popular at all in Europe. In Tibet salt is added to Tea for the opposite effect in that it makes the drink more refreshing when one is hot. This is a subjective explanation and does not really bear up to any kind of scientific scrutiny.

Simple by design

The Samovar is a simple device and has not changed much in the 3600 years since its first known introduction. A large urn-shaped vessel, the Samovar has a wide tube that runs up the centre into which charcoal, coal or even pine cones can be added and ignited. The tube is topped with a small chimney to encourage good air flow. The main part of the vessel is then filled with water and the ignited fuel begins to heat it up. On top of this to one side of the small chimney pipe, may be a teapot containing tea leaves that will steep and keep warm from the urn below. At the base of the urn is a spigot through which heated water can be drawn to refill the teapot above. The Samovar fits in with social tea drinking activities providing plenty of cups over a period of time and forming an impressive centre-piece for a social gathering.

Priceless items

In some parts of the world samovar are still very popular such as in Iran and Turkey. There are also still popular in their original cultures such as in Mongolia, Russia and Kashmir. These days Samovars are very collectible and with the added bonus of a large amount of decoration and often precious metals used in their manufacture makes them beautiful items to display in public. A samovar made for the Tsars of Russia can well fall into the realms of being priceless, fashioned from gold, silver and beautifully decorated. These items are usually only found in museums.

Jerry White writes for Unity Teapots. Various styles of Asian teapots are available, including Glass Teapots [http://www.unityteapots.com/glass-teapots.html] and Cast Iron Teapots [http://www.unityteapots.com/cast-iron-teapots.html].

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