Tea Education: Via Mongols and Moguls, Tea Goes Global
-Sue Worthman

In the go-go ‘90s, world economies were booming. Newly forged trans-continental trade agreements, adoption of common currencies, and production efficiencies sped a global exchange of goods and services. China, Russia and India became significant players. From East to West, an upstart generation of ‘young turks’, ‘moguls’ and ‘captains’ defined the ‘new economy’. Business success depended on ‘globalization’.

Much has changed since then. Of course, a lot does in three hundred years. That’s right. We’re talking about the 1690s, when Europe, China, and India were madly trading furs, tea, silk, cotton, spices and other goods for a luxury-hungry upper class and a newly emerging middle class. Silver had become the common trading currency, and land and sea routes were well-established, making trade more efficient.

In 1689, Russia and China forged a boundary treaty, with a Chinese stipulation that all trade between them happen at a single spot on the frontier. To this desert outpost, called Usk Kayakhta—a thousand miles from then-Peking and four thousand miles from St. Petersburg—Russian caravans would arrive laden with fur to be exchanged for cotton, tea and silk. It initially took 200-300 camels and a little over a year to make the roundtrip. A century later, the trip was no faster, but the caravans had grown to thousands of camels and Russians were consuming over 3.5 million pounds of tea annually. Much of the consumption increase was fueled—literally—by the invention of the ‘samovar’ (‘self-heater’ in Russian). A metal urn with a spigot and a chimney for charcoal, the samovar was (and still is) used to boil the tea water; the teapot sits on top of the chimney to stay warm. Most likely inspired by the firepots used by Mongolian nomads, the samovar lent the classic smoky qualities to what became known as Russian Caravan tea.

While camels were carrying tea across Russia, Dutch ships were ‘speeding’ tea to the new markets in the Near East, particularly Persia, where the Moghul empire held sway. Like the camels, these ships carried Chinese tea, but in this case the tea was from Taiwan, which had started tea cultivation in the late 1690s. Iran began its own production of tea around 1900, and remains the most popular drink for Iranians.

Tea Recipe: Rice Pudding—6 servings

Especially good made with aromatic rice like jasmine or basmati. Serve with whipped cream, sliced apples or pears.

3/4 cup long grain white rice
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
1 heaping tablespoon tea (try a jasmine or 1001 Nights)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins or diced dried apricots (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

1. Combine rice, water and salt in large saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.
2. While rice is cooking, heat milk until very hot. (Do no boil.) Remove from heat, add tea leaves, cover and let steep 5 minutes. Strain and reserve milk.
3. Stir milk and sugar into rice. (Add in raisins/apricots, if using.) Cook uncovered over medium low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring frequently, especially in last 5 to 10 minutes. Pudding is done when it has cooked down into a creamy, shiny thick porridge. Do not overcook, or pudding will be gummy and solid when cool.
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla or almond extract.
5. Spoon pudding into serving bowl, press plastic wrap onto surface (to prevent a skin from forming).
6. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold. Garnish with chopped toasted almonds.

Customer Corner

		Name: Barrie Cook (with daughter Audie) City: Piedmont Favorite Tea: Lychee Bubble Tea
“It was night. The bar was packed, but quiet in that way that crowded places can get sometimes. She sat at a table, pulling on the business end of a long straw. Her drink was bubbly and dark. Not quite a man’s drink, but not exactly ‘girly’. Modern, sophisticated. She’d escaped temporarily from her house, where someone named “Audie” kept her running. She said she was a network engineer, trying to kick some bad habits. Now she was writing for her life. She had to talk fast. That Audie person expected her back soon. What was she writing? Science fiction. That’s right—“science-fiction”. Aliens and space travel. It figured. She’d been a regular coffee-and-sugar gal, but then something changed. Now she was downing brews with weird-sounding names “Rooibos” and “kombucha”. (She was making that last one; kept it in the dark in her house. Wanted it to grow mold.) Once she’d loved mochas; now she ate ‘mochi’. It came in strange colors—pale greens and pinks—with some kind of white powder. Who was this woman?! I wanted to know more, but she had to go. She spoke one final time: “Tea is the past. Tea is the future!” Then she was gone. Tea is the past. Tea is the future. She was trying to tell me something…” (Barrie Cook is in truth a former f/t network engineer, now consulting and writing a sci-fi novel in her spare time. That is when she’s not tending to delightful 18-month old Audie, who keeps her very busy. Barrie discovered L’Amyx as a new mom, delighted to find an open, airy space to get out of the house and meet up with other moms with babes-in-arms. Tea and mochi help her stay on the straight-and-narrow, away from caffeine and sugar, although she views bubble tea as yet another bad habit.)