As I've mentioned in one of my previous posts, tea is an essential part of every day life in Russia. People drink tea nearly after every meal - always after dinner with some sweets.
So during my stay here, since I will be drinking so much tea, I decided that I would document the various tea cups that I drink out of!
Ceramic tea cups in themselves are an art that is highly prized here in Russia. Every household (even my own back home in America) has a set of tea cups, plates, and a tea pot from the same collection, which is used daily. Or, if it's an especially expensive or lavish set, it is used on celebratory occasions. For me, since I am a guest nearly everywhere I go, I often am gifted the privilege of drinking out of the fancy tea cups that the family owns! Naturally, I take a picture - here you go!
At Бабушка Галя's house - my favorite mug.
When Аня cut my hair at her salon, she offered me tea. Turns out, they offer tea to their customers very often, especially during the cold winter months. (And she even gave me a little candy - халва!)
At Nastya's house - with a raspberry roll for dessert after dinner.
Nadia, the woman we stayed with in St. Petersburg, has a vast collection of gorgeous tea cups. Here is the first one we drank out of.
It's a bit difficult to tell, but this one has hand-painted bell-flowers painted on. These are the oldest tea cups Nadia has - she says they're from the 1960s!
These are the fanciest tea cups I have had tea out of. They are, Nadia told me, extremely expensive because they are made out of extremely fine and thin porcelain.
In fact, it was so thin that when I held the cup up to the light, you could see the design right though it! (The inside of the cup was completely white.)
You know this is a fancy tea set when it is displayed at the Hermitage in the porcelain collection….
And this is the last set of tea cups that Nadia owns - so light and delicate. I loved it!
Those are all the tea cups for now. Since there will be tea every day, there will be many more tea cups to come, don't you worry!
So during my stay here, since I will be drinking so much tea, I decided that I would document the various tea cups that I drink out of!
Ceramic tea cups in themselves are an art that is highly prized here in Russia. Every household (even my own back home in America) has a set of tea cups, plates, and a tea pot from the same collection, which is used daily. Or, if it's an especially expensive or lavish set, it is used on celebratory occasions. For me, since I am a guest nearly everywhere I go, I often am gifted the privilege of drinking out of the fancy tea cups that the family owns! Naturally, I take a picture - here you go!
At Бабушка Галя's house - my favorite mug.
When Аня cut my hair at her salon, she offered me tea. Turns out, they offer tea to their customers very often, especially during the cold winter months. (And she even gave me a little candy - халва!)
At Nastya's house - with a raspberry roll for dessert after dinner.
Nadia, the woman we stayed with in St. Petersburg, has a vast collection of gorgeous tea cups. Here is the first one we drank out of.
It's a bit difficult to tell, but this one has hand-painted bell-flowers painted on. These are the oldest tea cups Nadia has - she says they're from the 1960s!
These are the fanciest tea cups I have had tea out of. They are, Nadia told me, extremely expensive because they are made out of extremely fine and thin porcelain.
In fact, it was so thin that when I held the cup up to the light, you could see the design right though it! (The inside of the cup was completely white.)
You know this is a fancy tea set when it is displayed at the Hermitage in the porcelain collection….
And this is the last set of tea cups that Nadia owns - so light and delicate. I loved it!
Those are all the tea cups for now. Since there will be tea every day, there will be many more tea cups to come, don't you worry!
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