On December 15, 1773, the World Declaration of Tea Workers rights was adopted. The decision to celebrate the holiday on this day was made after repeated discussions of many international organizations and trade unions, during the World Public Forum, held in 2004 in Mumbai (India). Accordingly, Tea Day is mainly celebrated by the countries in the economy of which tea production occupies one of the main places - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda, Tanzania.

In Russia, this day is not yet widely celebrated, but there is no doubt about the popularity of the aromatic drink in our country. The museum Collection exposition features multifarious exhibits related to tea drinking. Some of them are presented at the thematic exhibition “Fedor Lorie and Egor Cheryatov. Coming back”, which is organised within the framework of the project “Bringing Back the Desuete Russian Artisans Names". The exhibition is open to the public from December 3, 2021. Signing up for thematic excursions as a part of an organized group is on the museum website.

The collection section “Decorative Arts and Jewelry” features a variety of items related to tea drinking - these are tea pairs and cup holders, teapots and sugar bowls, milk jugs and caddies, made by Russian and Western artisans from different materials and in different techniques. A story about tea and the traditions of its consumption in Russia is under the heading "Audio-stories”.

Photo album dedicated to the International Tea Day is posted in our Photo Gallery.

* On the cover: exhibit from the museum Collection repository
  Tea box. Moscow. Late 19th century
  Fyodor Lorie firm
  7.0 x 10.0 x 8.5
  Silver; press-work, carving, gilding

Silver, gilded inside, rectangular box, with sloping corners and sides, with a hinged lid. Made in the form of a paper-wrapped bundle with a rope draw. Carved inscription in Cyrillic is on the hinged lid "THE FIRST RUSSIAN TEA // KONSTANTIN POPOV // PRICE Rubles. Kopecks". The late engraved dedication is on the front side: "From Rose and Sasha 19 30 / III 24".

Konstantin Semenovich Popov (1850-1919) belonged to the Popov dynasty of tea merchants, well known in Russia, who owned “The Brothers K. and S. Popovs” partnership, which was founded in 1842 and which was one of the five best tea suppliers in Russia and had the title of His Imperial Majesty Court Supplier. It was Konstantin Semenovich, who was the first to grow tea plantations in Russia near Batum. In 1893, he bought several plots of land in the town of Chakvi and planted the first tea bushes brought from China there. He also brought several families of tea-growers from China. Seven years later, at The Exposition Universelle of 1900, Russian tea of the Popovs Partnership, grown in the Chakvi plantations, won the first place and was awarded with the Great Gold Medal as the best tea in the world.

Catalog “Fyodor Lorie Firm and Jeweler Egor Cheryatov. Collection of David and Mikhail Iakobachvili / Museum Collection. M., 2021 .-- p. 128