A cup of hot strong tea is the best way to warm and cheer up in a rainy autumn day. However, there is not much in the tea ceremony in our century of high speeds and the eternal bustle. It usually consists only of a disposable tea bags and a ceramic mug. There were times, when the ceremony of setting a tea table for was carried out slowly, and the serving was in accordance with the strict rules and local fashion. Various unique and items for tea ceremony: teapots, sugar bowls, glass holders, cups - the works of the best masters of the XIX th– beginning of XX th century are represented in the thematic photo gallery "Autumn tea party".

Link to the album: http://collection-museum.com/en/gallery/list.php?section=1306

Some interesting facts about tea traditions in Russia:

+Very speedily, it became the daily used product. The Royal court was the first to get used to drinking tea, later the boyars (court nobility) and finally, the wealthy citizens. The first agreement concerning the delivery of tea on the regular basis was signed with China 1679. By the end of the XVII th century, tea was sold in Moscow grocery stores together with a sideline of household goods. Among the common people, tea with rare exceptions was among the inaccessible luxury goods. Only in the 2nd half of the XVIII century, the tea got widespread. It was served in the inns, hostels and post houses, especially on busy roads.

In the mid-nineteenth century, tea came into general use of ordinary working people. They were factory workers, coachmen, carriage-drivers, artisans, servants, later – even peasants, living in the nearest to the major cities areas and in those that were situated along the main paths. Thus, per capita amount of dry tea per year was approximately 70 gr in 1840, it raised up to 225 gr per capita/per year in 1870, and about 450 gr per capita/per year in the early twentieth century. In the dense and remote areas, for example, in the Northern provinces, the tea was not known even in the late nineteenth century." (From the catalog by S. I. Kruglov "Glass Holders: Soviet, Russian, Foreign", 2012).

October 2016. “Autumn Tea Party"