Someone’s morning starts with coffee, someone else’s tea. And, remembering the past, it would be interesting to know how tea got to the USSR and what it was like.

This is what we'll talk about now)

In the period 1917-1923, Soviet Russia went through a "tea" period: the use of alcoholic beverages was officially banned, while the army and industrial workers were supplied with tea free of charge. The organization "Tsentrochay" was created, which was engaged in the distribution of tea from confiscated warehouses of tea trading companies. The stocks were so great that until 1923 there was no need to buy tea abroad.

The Soviet leadership paid great attention to the development of domestic tea production. It is known that V. I. Lenin and I. V. Stalin loved and constantly drank tea. In the 1920s, a special program was adopted to develop the tea business in the country. The Anaseulsky Research Institute of Tea, Tea Industry and Subtropical Crops was established, the purpose of which was in breeding work to develop new varieties of tea. V different regions Several dozen tea factories were built in Western Georgia. The regular planting of tea plantations began (the old ones were completely destroyed by 1920). Tea production developed in Azerbaijan and the Krasnodar Territory. Everything possible was done to weaken the country's dependence on tea supplies from abroad.

By the end of the 1970s, the area for tea in the USSR reached 97 thousand hectares, there were 80 modern tea industry enterprises in the country. Only in Georgia 95 thousand tons of ready-made tea were produced per year. By 1986 general production tea in the USSR reached 150 thousand tons, slab black and green - 8 thousand tons, green brick - 9 thousand tons. In the 1950s - 1970s, the USSR turned into a tea-exporting country - Georgian, Azerbaijani and Krasnodar teas were supplied to Poland, the GDR, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, South Yemen, Mongolia. Mainly brick and tiled tea went to Asia. The USSR's need for tea was met by its own production, in different years, by an amount from 2/3 to 3/4.

By the 1970s, at the level of the leadership of the USSR, a decision was already ripe to specialize areas suitable for tea production in such a production. It was supposed to seize the land used for other crops and transfer them to tea production. However, these plans were never realized. Moreover, under the pretext of getting rid of manual labor, by the beginning of the 1980s, manual collection of tea leaves was almost completely stopped in Georgia, having switched entirely to machine picking, which gives extremely low quality products.
The import of tea from China continued until 1970. Subsequently, Chinese imports were curtailed, purchases of tea began in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania. Since the quality of Georgian tea, in comparison with imported tea, was not high (mainly due to attempts to mechanize the collection of tea leaves), mixing of imported teas with Georgian tea was actively practiced, as a result of which a product of acceptable quality and price was obtained.
By the early 1980s, it became almost impossible to buy pure Indian or Ceylon tea in ordinary stores - it was imported extremely rarely and in small batches, it was instantly sold out. Sometimes Indian tea was brought into canteens and canteens of enterprises and institutions.
At this time, shops usually sold low-grade Georgian tea with "wood" and the aroma of hay. The following brands were also sold, but were rare:
- Tea No. 36 (Georgian and 36% Indian) (green packaging)
- Tea No. 20 (Georgian and 20% Indian) (green packaging)
- Krasnodar tea top grade
- Georgian tea of ​​the highest grade
- Georgian tea first grade
- Georgian tea, second grade

Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For Indian tea the first grade used green-red packaging. Tea sold as Indian in stores has not always been the same. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea.
Own production of tea after 1980 dropped significantly, the quality deteriorated. Since the mid-1980s, progressive commodity shortages have affected essential goods, including sugar and tea. At the same time, the internal economic processes of the USSR coincided with the death of Indian and Ceylon tea plantations (another period of growth came to an end) and an increase in world prices for tea. As a result, tea, like a number of other food products, almost disappeared from the free sale and began to be sold with coupons. Only low-grade tea in some cases could be bought freely. Subsequently in large quantities Turkish tea began to be bought, which was very poorly brewed. It was sold in bulk without coupons. In the same years, in the middle lane and in the north of the country, appeared on sale green tea, which was practically not imported to these regions earlier. It was also sold freely.

In the first years after the collapse of the USSR, both Russian and Georgian tea production was completely abandoned. Georgia had no reason to maintain this production, since its only market was Russia, which, due to the decline in the quality of Georgian tea, had already reoriented itself to buying tea in other states. The tea production of Azerbaijan has survived, which currently satisfies part of the country's domestic demand for tea. Some of the Georgian tea plantations are still abandoned. In Russia, several own companies have now been created - importers of tea, as well as small representative offices of foreign ones.

Who remembers tea from the USSR?)

Someone’s morning starts with coffee, someone else’s tea. And, remembering the past, it would be interesting to know how tea got to the USSR and what it was like.
This is what we'll talk about now)

In the period 1917-1923, Soviet Russia went through a "tea" period: the use of alcoholic beverages was officially prohibited, while the army and industrial workers were supplied with tea free of charge. The organization "Tsentrochay" was created, which was engaged in the distribution of tea from confiscated warehouses of tea trading companies. The stocks were so great that until 1923 there was no need to buy tea abroad.

The Soviet leadership paid great attention to the development of domestic tea production. It is known that V. I. Lenin and I. V. Stalin loved and constantly drank tea. In the 1920s, a special program was adopted to develop the tea business in the country. The Anaseulsky Research Institute of Tea, Tea Industry and Subtropical Crops was established, the purpose of which was in breeding work to develop new varieties of tea. Several dozen tea factories were built in different regions of Western Georgia. The regular planting of tea plantations began (the old ones were completely destroyed by 1920). Tea production developed in Azerbaijan and the Krasnodar Territory. Everything possible was done to weaken the country's dependence on tea supplies from abroad.

By the end of the 1970s, the area for tea in the USSR reached 97 thousand hectares, there were 80 modern tea enterprises in the country. Only in Georgia 95 thousand tons of ready-made tea were produced per year. By 1986, the total production of tea in the USSR reached 150 thousand tons, slab black and green - 8 thousand tons, green brick - 9 thousand tons. In the 1950s - 1970s, the USSR turned into a tea-exporting country - Georgian, Azerbaijani and Krasnodar teas were supplied to Poland, the GDR, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, South Yemen, Mongolia. Mainly brick and tiled tea went to Asia. The USSR's need for tea was met by its own production, in different years, by an amount from 2/3 to 3/4.

By the 1970s, at the level of the leadership of the USSR, a decision was already ripe to specialize areas suitable for tea production in such a production. It was supposed to seize the land used for other crops and transfer them to tea production. However, these plans were never realized. Moreover, under the pretext of getting rid of manual labor, by the beginning of the 1980s, manual collection of tea leaves was almost completely stopped in Georgia, having switched entirely to machine picking, which gives extremely low quality products.
The import of tea from China continued until 1970. Subsequently, Chinese imports were curtailed, purchases of tea began in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania. Since the quality of Georgian tea, in comparison with imported tea, was not high (mainly due to attempts to mechanize the collection of tea leaves), mixing of imported teas with Georgian tea was actively practiced, as a result of which a product of acceptable quality and price was obtained.
By the early 1980s, it became almost impossible to buy pure Indian or Ceylon tea in ordinary stores - it was imported extremely rarely and in small batches, it was instantly sold out. Sometimes Indian tea was brought into canteens and canteens of enterprises and institutions.
At this time, shops usually sold low-grade Georgian tea with "wood" and the aroma of hay. The following brands were also sold, but were rare:
- Tea No. 36 (Georgian and 36% Indian) (green packaging)
- Tea No. 20 (Georgian and 20% Indian) (green packaging)
- Krasnodar premium tea
- Georgian tea of ​​the highest grade
- Georgian tea first grade
- Georgian tea, second grade

Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For the first grade Indian tea, a green-red packaging was used. Tea sold as Indian in stores has not always been the same. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea.
Own production of tea after 1980 dropped significantly, the quality deteriorated. Since the mid-1980s, progressive commodity shortages have affected essential goods, including sugar and tea. At the same time, the internal economic processes of the USSR coincided with the death of Indian and Ceylon tea plantations (another period of growth came to an end) and an increase in world prices for tea. As a result, tea, like a number of other food products, almost disappeared from the free sale and began to be sold with coupons. Only low-grade tea in some cases could be bought freely. Subsequently, Turkish tea was bought in large quantities, which was very poorly brewed. It was sold in bulk without coupons. In the same years, green tea appeared on sale in the middle zone and in the north of the country, which was practically not imported to these regions before. It was also sold freely.

In the first years after the collapse of the USSR, both Russian and Georgian tea production was completely abandoned. Georgia had no reason to maintain this production, since its only market was Russia, which, due to the decline in the quality of Georgian tea, had already reoriented itself to buying tea in other states. The tea production of Azerbaijan has survived, which currently satisfies part of the country's domestic demand for tea. Some of the Georgian tea plantations are still abandoned. In Russia, several own companies have now been created - importers of tea, as well as small representative offices of foreign ones.

Who remembers tea from the USSR?)

In the period 1917-1923, Soviet Russia experienced a "tea" period: the use of alcoholic beverages was officially prohibited, while the army and industrial workers were supplied with tea free of charge.

The organization "Tsentrochay" was created, which was engaged in the distribution of tea from confiscated warehouses of tea trading companies. The reserves were so great that until 1923 there was no need to buy tea abroad ...
By the end of the 1970s, the area for tea in the USSR reached 97 thousand hectares, there were 80 modern tea enterprises in the country. Only in Georgia 95 thousand tons of ready-made tea were produced per year. By 1986, the total production of tea in the USSR reached 150 thousand tons, slab black and green - 8 thousand tons, green brick - 9 thousand tons.
In the 1950s - 1970s, the USSR turned into a tea-exporting country - Georgian, Azerbaijani and Krasnodar teas were supplied to Poland, the GDR, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, South Yemen, Mongolia. Mainly brick and tiled tea went to Asia. The USSR's need for tea was met by its own production, in different years, by an amount from 2/3 to 3/4.


By the 1970s, at the level of the leadership of the USSR, a decision was already ripe to specialize areas suitable for tea production in such a production. It was supposed to seize the land used for other crops and transfer them to tea production.
However, these plans were never realized. Moreover, under the pretext of getting rid of manual labor, by the beginning of the 1980s, manual collection of tea leaves was almost completely stopped in Georgia, having switched entirely to machine picking, which gives extremely low quality products.
The import of tea from China continued until 1970. Subsequently, Chinese imports were curtailed, purchases of tea began in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania. Since the quality of Georgian tea, in comparison with imported tea, was not high (mainly due to attempts to mechanize the collection of tea leaves), mixing of imported teas with Georgian tea was actively practiced, as a result of which a product of acceptable quality and price was obtained.


By the early 1980s, it became almost impossible to buy pure Indian or Ceylon tea in ordinary stores - it was imported extremely rarely and in small batches, it was instantly sold out. Sometimes Indian tea was brought into canteens and canteens of enterprises and institutions. At this time, shops usually sold low-grade Georgian tea with "wood" and "hay flavor". The following brands were also sold, but were rare:
Tea No. 36 (Georgian and 36% Indian) (green packaging)
Tea No. 20 (Georgian and 20% Indian) (green packaging)
Krasnodar premium tea
Georgian tea of ​​the highest grade
Georgian tea first grade
Georgian tea second grade
The quality of Georgian tea was disgusting. "Georgian tea of ​​the second grade" looked like sawdust, there were occasionally pieces of branches in it (they were called "firewood"), it smelled of tobacco and had a disgusting taste.


Krasnodar was considered even worse than Georgian. Basically, it was bought for brewing "chifir" - a drink obtained by long-term digestion of highly concentrated brew. For its preparation, neither the smell nor the taste of tea was important - only the amount of tein (tea caffeine) was important ...


More or less normal tea, which could be drunk normally, was considered "Tea No. 36" or as it was usually called "thirty-sixth". When he was "thrown" on the counters, a line of an hour and a half formed immediately. And they gave strictly "two packs in one hand."


This usually happened at the end of the month. when the store urgently needed to "get a plan". The pack was one hundred grams, one pack was enough for a maximum of a week. And then with a very economical expenditure.
Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For the first grade Indian tea, a green-red packaging was used.
Tea sold as Indian tea has not always really been that. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea.


Own production of tea after 1980 dropped significantly, the quality deteriorated. Since the mid-1980s, progressive commodity shortages have affected essential goods, including sugar and tea.
At the same time, the internal economic processes of the USSR coincided with the death of Indian and Ceylon tea plantations (another period of growth came to an end) and an increase in world prices for tea. As a result, tea, like a number of other food products, almost disappeared from the free sale and began to be sold with coupons.


Only low-grade tea in some cases could be bought freely. Subsequently, Turkish tea was bought in large quantities, which was very poorly brewed. It was sold in bulk without coupons. In the same years, green tea appeared on sale in the middle zone and in the north of the country, which was practically not imported to these regions before. It was also sold freely.


There was also tea served in canteens and on long-distance trains. It cost three kopecks, but it was better not to drink it. especially in canteens. It was done this way - an old, already brewed tea leaves were taken, baking soda was added to it and all this was boiled over for fifteen to twenty minutes. If the color was not dark enough, was added burnt sugar... Naturally, no claims to quality were accepted - "if you don't like it, don't drink it."

In the first years after the collapse of the USSR, both Russian and Georgian tea production was completely abandoned. Georgia had no reason to maintain this production, since its only market was Russia, which, due to the decline in the quality of Georgian tea, had already reoriented itself to buying tea in other states.
The tea production of Azerbaijan has survived, which currently satisfies part of the country's domestic demand for tea. Some of the Georgian tea plantations are still abandoned. In Russia, several own companies have now been created - importers of tea, as well as small representative offices of foreign ones.

The quality of Georgian tea was disgusting. "Georgian tea of ​​the second grade" looked like sawdust, there were occasionally pieces of branches in it (they were called "firewood"), it smelled of tobacco and had a disgusting taste. Krasnodar was considered even worse than Georgian. Basically, it was bought for brewing "chifir" - a drink obtained by long-term digestion of highly concentrated brew. For its preparation, neither the smell nor the taste of tea was important - only the amount of tein (tea caffeine) was important ...

More or less normal tea, which could be drunk normally, was considered "Tea No. 36" or as it was usually called "thirty-sixth". When it was "thrown" on the counters, a line of an hour and a half formed immediately. And they gave strictly "two packs in one hand." This usually happened at the end of the month. when the store needed to "get a plan" urgently. The pack was one hundred grams, one pack was enough for a maximum of a week. And then with a very economical expenditure.

Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For the first grade Indian tea, a green-red packaging was used. Tea sold as Indian tea has not always really been that. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea.

Own production of tea after 1980 dropped significantly, the quality deteriorated. Since the mid-1980s, progressive commodity shortages have affected essential goods, including sugar and tea. At the same time, the internal economic processes of the USSR coincided with the death of Indian and Ceylon tea plantations (another period of growth came to an end) and an increase in world prices for tea. As a result, tea, like a number of other food products, almost disappeared from the free sale and began to be sold with coupons. Only low-grade tea in some cases could be bought freely. Subsequently, Turkish tea was bought in large quantities, which was very poorly brewed. It was sold in bulk without coupons. In the same years, green tea appeared on sale in the middle zone and in the north of the country, which was practically not imported to these regions before. It was also sold freely.

In the first years after the collapse of the USSR, both Russian and Georgian tea production was completely abandoned. Georgia had no reason to maintain this production, since its only market was Russia, which, due to the decline in the quality of Georgian tea, had already reoriented itself to buying tea in other states. The tea production of Azerbaijan has survived, which currently satisfies part of the country's domestic demand for tea. Some of the Georgian tea plantations are still abandoned. In Russia, several own companies have now been created - importers of tea, as well as small representative offices of foreign ones.
The production of tea in the USSR was a clear indicator of the degradation of the entire economy of the country. From one kilogram of tea, five kilograms were falsified, of which two were allowed into trade, and three went to the left. As a result, it turned out on paper, overfulfillment of the plan by 200%, state bonuses to ministries, millions of rubles in the shadow economy and sawdust mixture for Soviet buyers

The AIF columnist tried to figure out which tea leaf was supplied from India to the USSR and what is being brought to Russia now, and at the same time to find out how the locals relate to tea. The result was completely unexpected.

- Where do you have tea there?

- To the left, the whole department. You will see right away.

Easy to say. Looking into a large supermarket in Delhi, I rummaged through several shelves before stumbling upon loose black tea familiar from childhood. It is not surprising - after all, the culture of tea drinking in India is different from the one we are used to. Instant (!) Is popular - yes, like coffee - tea, which is poured with boiling water, as well as the "granular version" - leaves rolled into solid balls. “Normal” tea, as we understand it, is not easy to find in India. In the morning, here they drink masala tea from glass glasses - a tea infusion with milk (the harmful influence of the British colonialists) and masala spices containing pepper and spices. You swallow such "happiness", and your tongue burns - so sharp. But that's okay. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, where many Tibetans live, they prefer tea with yak oil and ... dried chicken... And drink and breakfast at the same time. Some tribes (in particular, the Gurkhas) do not brew anything at all, but simply chew tea leaves with ... garlic. In general, the naive idea of ​​India as a tea country collapses from the very first days of his stay.

Only female fingers

“Extensive tea plantations in India appeared only in 1856 - English planters brought the seedlings from China,” explains one of the tea businessmen. Abdul-Wahid Jamarati... - Before that, only wild varieties grew here. Tea is now grown in three mountainous regions. In the north-east of India - in Darjeeling and the state of Assam, as well as in the south - Nilgiri tea is produced there. Cool weather and frequent rains are essential for the taste: the leaves love to absorb moisture. The most fragrant tea is picked only by hand and only by women (their salary is about 5 thousand rubles a month for Russian money. - Author): men's fingers are coarser and cannot pinch off the youngest shoots - flushes. During machine harvesting, everything is cut off, so these varieties are cheap: experts cynically call them a broom. Personally, I am an ardent fan of tea, which is harvested in Darjeeling from February to May, it has a very bright and rich taste. By the way, never buy tea in bazaars, where it is poured into open bags and kept outdoors all day. The aroma of such a leaf disappears: it turns into chopped hay. I was in Russia and saw that you store the leaves incorrectly. Tea should be put in the refrigerator, at a temperature of + 8 °, so it concentrates its qualities. Do not keep in a paper box, the best option- an ordinary glass jar ".

The most aromatic tea is collected only by hand and only by women. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Darjeeling plantations are mesmerizing - huge mountains covered with green tea bushes. My guide, 28-year-old Lakshmi from Tamil Nadu state, assures that she is happy with the position: “It's not coal to be mined in the devil's depths in a mine”. She considers herself a professional in the tea business, as she is able to collect 80 kg (!) Of leaves per day. The machine, by the way, collects 1.5 tons, but it is very small: we drink this dust later, brewing tea bags. Rubbing the delicate leaves of a tea bush with his fingers, Lakshmi reports: they grow back in two weeks, and in a year one plant can accumulate 70 kg of tea (in Assam, 2.5 times more). True, now some site owners are planting artificially bred varieties - the taste is not a fountain, but they will cut 100 kilos in six months. Alas, there are a lot of different shenanigans with tea in India.

For example, empty cans and packs with the inscription "Elite" or "Selected" are freely sold in the nearby shops, and unscrupulous traders pour penny varieties there: after all, only experienced tasters abroad can determine the quality of tea.

What's in the brew?

"Unfortunately, good tea small firms often do it, - they tell me at the plantation. "They throw in cheap versions of Kenyan or Malaysian, put the stamp" Made in India "- and the pack goes to the international market." How much fake tea is sold in Russia, Darjeeling could not estimate. The British (and in Britain they love Indian tea no less than ours) carefully monitor the quality and strictly check the suppliers. Do they do this with us?

“Frankly speaking, even the tea that the USSR bought can hardly be called Indian,” says businessman Vijay Sharma, whose firm sold tea to the Soviet Union in the late 1970s. - It was a blend, a mixture. Depending on the variety in the famous Soviet times In the pack with the image of an elephant, the share of tea from India was only 15-25%. The main filler (over 50%) was Georgian leaf. And even now, things are not very good. I tried tea from sellers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, it turned out that they have no idea what period the collection (the taste depends on) of "Darjeeling". And what is more, Nilgiri tea is often sold as “elite” tea, although in India it is the cheapest drink for the poor, it is it that is packed in bags. In some places, under the guise of Indian, they sold Indonesian or Vietnamese tea.

A cup of red pepper

I order tea at a street cafe in Delhi. It is usually cooked in an iron teapot (or even in a saucepan) over an open fire. The leaves are sometimes boiled immediately in milk (at the request of the client) or in water, after adding cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and chili. In general, from the outside it is similar to making soup. A glass costs 15 rupees (13.5 rubles). It tastes strange, and almost ten spoons are poured in sugar: in India they adore sweet tea to the extreme. I ask you to brew black Assamese leaves without milk and spices. The waiter appears with a glass of steaming tea and ... puts a jug of milk next to him. "Why?! I asked… ”“ Sir, ”his voice sounds with obvious pity. - But you will not taste good!

Summing up, I will say: the supply of Indian tea to our country is still chaotic, sellers are poorly versed in varieties or frankly fantasize, pushing low-quality tea leaves from other countries to the Russian consumer. I generally keep quiet about the price - in India, tea costs 130 rubles. per kilo, we can sell it for a thousand. It's a pity. Indian varieties, especially Darjeeling, are great, and our business has long had to work with India directly, and not buy tea at exorbitant prices through Europe and dubious small firms in India. It will be cheaper for us and, most importantly, tastier.