Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-02-17
RUSSIAN TEA.

Inc f'uSSidnS VINO stand eveen ahead
OF the English In their attention and
care given to their tea making. make
tneir tea by the aid of a samovar and
sip II instead OF drinking IL. Their pre-
ference Is for Chinese tea which ,s car
fied overland on camel back gaining
thereby the name Caravan ten" This
tea is delightfully."- aromatic its delicious
fragrance stimulating and nrousins tho
convival spirits of those who nartalte
Tho FURNISHED samovar steamine and
burning charcoal is brought into the
parlor or drawing room Boiling water
from It's faucets IL poured over the tea
leaves long enough to cleanse and moist
en-. removing at the same time their
str!ngency. Then this water Is turned
off, the damp leaves given u moment or
two to settle and are then re-cov cred
with fresh boiling water. In five min
I utcs the liquid assumes n golden hue
and Is then poured into delicate. trans
parent tumblers. For favour the Rus
slans use merely a slice of lemon and u
! lump Of sugar though the well equipped
/ table seldom lacks tho siiv.- flash with
its dash of rum for those who wish IT,
The Russian themselves never drink cold
tea. despite the fact that we have given
their name to the ice cold beverage which
we serve in Summer.
SECTIONAL PREFERENCES.
In our country the taste for tea var.
les according to the requirements OF To-
caity. According to the exporters and
Importers the entire export Of Japan
teas which come to the United States
and Canada are taken In Upper New
York, Vermont and New Hampshire. in
the lumber forests of Michigan and In the
/ farming and mining regions of the West
as far as the Pacific Their popularity
in the Mississippi region t. accounted
for By their capacity to withstand over
| drawing. even the water in alkali regions
failing to make them rank. Formosa co.
long is drunk In the New England States.
Penn ylvania and Maryland. China
greens usually blended with black are
used more particularly in the South and
| Southwest.
SERVING AFTERNOON TEA IN BUSI-
NESS OFFICES AND HOTELS.
The custom OF serving afternoon tea in
business offices Is rapidly gaining ground
here. lawyer and bankers particularly
falling in line. At the large banking hous
es II is served at the close of banking
hours to officials and favored guests.
In all the up-to-date restaurants and
hotels special rooms are now given ov-
err to the service OF afternoon tea. 1t is
not uncommon for two or three thous-
and persons mostly women to drop in
at the Waldorf Of a Saturday afternoon
to get cup OF tea and its acconpani-
ment Of dainty sandwiches and French
pastry. While a half hour Is the usual
tarrying time for the women to get liv
ened up after a strenuous shopping tour.
the matinee, a club lecture or some form
OF social service work, some spend the
entire two hours there that are set apart
for this tea drinking function, the aver
age check per individual being from fifty
TO seventy-five cents. This is accounted
for by the expense of the accompanying
tict bits. galettes. napoleons, mullins
crumpets etc, not for the tea alone. which
costs but thirtyfive cents per pot.
The tea purchased by the best hotels
averages sixty cents per pound and one
pound will allow for the brewing of from
two or three hundred cups of tea.
The usual blend preferred is Grange
pekoe and English breakfast. This blend
does not lose strength by standing, but
instead ripens and softens in favour.
THE STREAMING sAMOvAR.
In studios and private houses which
mako a practice of serving afternoon
ten the Russian samovar FURNISHED un-
iii II catches and reflects every ray Of
light from window or dancing flame. ls
the popular tea dispenser to luEgle with,
Indeed at Holiday time the demand for
these brass and copper vessels was sc
| 81 No, Iltraa ia- hra
shops had to ask their prospective Gus
toners to wait until after Christmas
While the housefurnishing and art stor-
es now offer-sanovars In which the wat
er can DO heated by either alcohol or
electricity instead OF charcoal, thereby
simplifying the service Of the fragrant
beverage, the woman OF sentiment pre-
, fers TO pick UP some genuine though
: battered importation from Moscow o,
, ct. petersburg have it refined, supple
mentcd to Its missing parts and FURNISH
cd The prices for these samovars range
= from eight to twenty-five or thirty doll
ars In shape they are quite similar tC
, the old fashioned coffee urns' They arc
: lined with a white metal. and H. the cent
8 er is tube OF the same material, abou
, four inches In diameter. that reache.
, from the top 10 the poNtoiH VI Ni' NdiHp
;, var. In this the charcoal is burned II
th. lower part are little windows which
, show the glowing Goals and give the ne
, cessary draft. The charcoal fire Is US
> uaIly started in the kitchen to allow TO
the burning OF the first fumes. A littl'
- chimney is kept there for this purpose
-, Az soon as fully ignited the chimney Il
/ removed and the samovar is carried il
!, 20 the tea table, Water is poured in tn,
+, body Of the samovar about this tub
and a faucet at the bottom Is used 1,
draw off the boiling water as needed. Thu
rest of samovar outfit consists o
: tray, drip bowl, tea pot, tea caddy an,
n measuring spoon. When ready to maxi
q the tea. the pot is rinsed out with boil
i Ing water, the required number of spoon
d fuls of tea put into the pot and the boil
O Ing water poured on. Tho cups or glasse
q are partially filled from the tea pot an,
IS finished from the spigot Of the samovar
Caviare sandwiches are often serve,
J. with this tea though cakes are quit
d sufficient Other additions affected b,
J. the hostess who wishes to give dstinc
n tive touch to her tea service are a sin
10 gle Glove added to each cup before tn
d tea Is poured, or few pieces pineapple
N or few drops of orange Juice or lemo
II added after It Is poured
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