☕️ 21 May marks International Tea Day.

The UK may be famous for its tea traditions, from 5 o’clock tea to a cup with a splash of milk, but Russia has its own rich and fascinating tea culture — just as warm and distinctive.

At the heart of it all is the unmistakable charm of the samovar (literally "self-boiler") — a large ornate metal vessel used to heat water. The Russian city of Tula has been crafting samovars since the 18th century, turning them into both everyday objects and true cultural icons. The Samovar Museum there even holds a tiny 10 mm model capable of boiling just a few drops of water at a time.

Russian tea parties also inspired some of the country's greatest artists, including Boris Kustodiev and Vasily Perov, whose paintings often captured warm and colourful tea gatherings.

And then there's the famous story of "drinking tea like Gagarin". During his 1961 visit to the UK, the Soviet cosmonaut attended a reception with Queen Elizabeth II and reportedly surprised everyone by taking the lemon slice from his tea and eating it separately. The gesture amused his hosts entirely and became a lasting cultural symbol. Many Russians still have this curious habit though.