The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1878-07-03


the metal tea kettles stand upon the
fire in full view, and you can superin-
tend the brewing of the tea in per-
son. Here, however, two white tea
pots are brought, one large and one
small, the larger containing hot
water, and the smaller one the tea.
In place of the ordinary teacup a
glass tumbler is placed before you.
Now, if you follow the native Gus
tom, you slowly fill the tumble halt
full of hot water, in order to warm it
thoroughly; after which you empty
the water, place the requisite amount
of sugar in the bottom, then pour in
the tea, and weaken with water to
suit the taste. If you like stick in
it, slice Of lemon accompanies the
tea, and imparts pleasant flavor.
This done, you are ready to drink
that is, if mouth and throat are
sufficiently fre-proof to stand the
beverage while it is scalding hot.
The native Russian will drink tea
while it fairly boils in the glass, and
does it without the passing trace of
a tear in his eye If you can follow
the custom, you are likely to get
better tea than it will ever be your
fortune to drink again. There is one
great difficulty. however, in doing it.
The glass has no handle, and to pick
it up in the ordinary manner is like
handling a live coal. The only way
to obviate the difficulty is either to
hold the thick bottom of the tumbler
in the hollow of your hand, or bend
low enough to drink from it as it
stands upon the table. Neither of
these methods is considered particu-
larly graceful at home, I am aware,
but one or the other you will proba-
bly, adopt if you drink tea in the
native fashion. To wait for it to
cool requires too much time, as the
glass retains the heat much longer
than a porcelain or crockery cup
would.
A very necessary accessory of tea
drinking in a traktir is tobacco and
religion. All the guests of the Mos
kovski were smoking between their
sips of tea, and nearly everybody
made the sign of the cross before
raising the first glass to his lips.
Cigarettes were used for the most
part, though one can buy cigars of
good enough quality if willing to
pay an extrayagant price. Always
expensive, the war has put the price
of cigars beyond the reach. of the
average patrons eff the traktir, pass.
able one costing about half rouble
war currency, or about 38 cents. To
keep up the illusion of the East, how
ever you indulge in the more luxuri-
GUS mode of smoking to be found in
pipes with large earthen bowls of a
red color, and having long cherry
stem. AS inevitably as he brings
you tea the servant brings one OF
these pipes. He fills it in your pres
ence with the fragrant yellow tobacco,
lights it with a coal, draws few
whifs to fairly set it going, then
wipes the mouth-piece carefully and
hands it to you. By judicious smok-
ing one pipeful will last half an hour,
during which you can sip tea, watch
the tea merchants bargaining, and
study the graceful effects of the semi
Oriental costumes they wear.
All this time the great barrel
organ at the end of the room will be
plaintively reciting the woes of
Faust, or the lively misdemeanors of
Traviata or La Belle Helene. In,
deed, the hum of such other CONVEX
sation as you might chance to hear
will be lost in the great peaIs of the
instrument. No Russian traktir
would hold its custom for a moment
without music of some kind; and
the patrons of the Moskovski would
leave in a body and transfer their
custom to another establishment if it
boosted a better organ. This one
was built at Wurtemberg expressly
for the Moskovski and cost the pro.
prietor about $4,000. It plays, / am
told, airs from about twenty operas.