If there's one place in the world that knows how to deal with cold weather, it's Russia. And if there's one kind of tea that will keep you warm this winter, it's Russian tea.

Tea has a long history in Russia, dating back to the 1600s! In 1638, the Russian Tsar Michael Fedorovich was gifted 64 kilograms of tea by the leader of Mongolia, Altyun-Khan. Shortly after, Russian traders and merchants established a trade route to China, exchanging tea for furs.

Russian Caravan tea has a distinct taste that can be described as smoky and hearty. The tea itself was often a blend of black teas from Yunnan or Keemun. Historical accounts claim that the smoky flavor came from being around campfires while being transported through Siberia. The practice actually predated Lapsang Souchong a famous Chinese tea with a characteristic strong flavor from being smoked over pinewood as the last part of the drying process.

Russian Caravan Tea

Nowadays, the distinct smoky flavor of Russian Caravan tea is achieved by incorporating Lapsang into the blend, along with other Chinese black teas. Keemun teas (such as our Keemun Rhapsody) provide a richness to the blend, with their characteristic earthy and peppery notes. The blend is usually rounded out with the smooth and chocolate-y notes of a Yunnan black tea or a dark oolong.

If you want to make your own perfect Russian Caravan blend, there's a lot of room to try out different teas in different ratios.

Do you prefer a really intense smoky taste?

Try adding two parts Lapsang Souchong to one part Keemun Concerto and one part Wuyi Ensemble.

Keemun Concerto gives a great full-bodied, peppery taste and Wuyi Ensemble adds a wonderful minerally and slightly smoky finish.

Want a more mellow blend?

Start with a base of two parts Yunnan Noir, one part Lapsang, and round out the rest with one part Formosa Oolong.

For a more traditional Russian Caravan custom blend:

You can even create your own perfect Russian Caravan tea on our site, right here!

Try 40% Lapsang Souchong and 60% Mambo (which is a blend of Yunnan and Wuyi teas). Assam Melody, although not a traditional choice, is another great option to build up that rich, full-bodied taste. Feel free to throw in some accents to highlight the flavor notes in your base teas. A hint of cardamom, cocoa nibs, or red peppercorn are all great choices as well.

More on Russian Tea

If you're making Russian tea the traditional way, you need a samovar! A samovar is an ornate metal container with two parts. The larger, bottom part of the samovar is used to boil water. The tea leaves go into another, smaller teapot that sits right on top. The traditional recipe uses one teaspoon of tea leaves for every person drinking tea, plus one more for the pot.

Once the water boils, fill up the small teapot and let it steep. To serve a cup of tea, start with the highly concentrated tea from the top teapot, then dilute it with water from the larger pot to taste.

Traditional Russian tea isn't served with milk or a lemon slice just a sugar cube that is usually held in the mouth while sipping tea.

But if you don't have a samovar on hand, don't worry! Perfectly palatable Russian tea can be made in a regular teapot. Follow your standard recipe for Chinese black teas: 1 teaspoon of tea leaves per cup of water, steeped for 3-5 minutes with boiling water.

While Russian tea usually refers to a blend of Chinese black teas, there is one variation of Russian tea that is distinctly American.

A product of the 1970s, Russian Tea was usually a blend of instant powdered tea, ground cinnamon, ground clove, and Tang (a fruity powdered drink). Sweet tea rules the Southern summer, but during the fall, Southern households turned to Russian tea to warm up.

I wanted to revamp this classic recipe using another classic fall flavor: maple! Adagios' Maple Creme Oolong has a lovely warm fall flavor, with the perfect blend of sweetness and spice to compliment the flavors of this classic drink. This recipe for maple 'Russian Tea is the perfect thing to curl up with on a chilly fall evening.

Maple Russian Tea Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups water
3 tsp Maple Creme Oolong
Peel from 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
3-5 whole cloves
1 whole star anise (optional)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, add orange peel and whole spices to water. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, let simmer for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat, and stir in maple syrup, orange juice, and lemon juice.

Pour into mugs through a strainer.

Garnish with orange slice and serve!

Tea Chef

Check out this month's TeaChef recipe competition! Head over there to submit your own creations to potentially win a $50 gift card to Adagio!