How Russians taught the English (and not only them!) to drink tea with LEMON!

Tea was introduced to Russia from Asia in the 17th century. As early as 1679, Russia and China concluded an agreement on tea supplies and the beverage gradually spread throughout the country. Tea was imported into Russia by caravans overland.

Russians became widely acquainted with lemons later than they did with tea. Although it had been fashionable to grow them in tsarist greenhouses since the time of Peter I, they did not become a popular fruit among the common people until the second half of the 19th century. It was then that a Nizhny Novgorod merchant named Ivan Karachistov brought back saplings of Turkish lemons, which, surprisingly, took root in ordinary Russian homes.

By that time, tea began to be served in roadside taverns. They say this is exactly how the tradition of putting lemon in tea arose. After all, something sour helps to relieve nausea on long journeys. The idea originally came from the caretakers of post stations where travelers stopped, but, later, it was adopted by tavernkeepers, as well.

📷 AnnaMusina, Historic Maps/ullstein bild, The Print Collector/Heritage Images/Getty Images; Boris Ignatovich/MAMM/MDF; Nikolay Moshkov /TASS

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