RUSSIAN SAMOVAR

Our samovar dates back to the 19th or early 20th century and was made in the town of Tula, 100 miles south of Moscow. Since the early 18th century, Tula had been the seat of an important iron and steel industry and rapidly became a trademark for artistic steel items. Metal works in Tula produced not only weapons but also luxury furniture and domestic and decorative steel items. Tula was also the most important production center of samovars. In the Russian language, there even exists the popular idiom “to go to Tula with your own samovar,” describing a pointless or superfluous action. Most references state that samovars were first created in Russia, but an archeological discovery suggests that the technology had its origins in what is now Azerbaijan: a vessel found in Shaki might be the oldest pottery samovar—up to 3,6000 years old—although it differs in shape and purpose from modern samovars. It was used for boiling soup or herbed water rather than for making tea. Tea originated in China and was not introduced in Russia until the Middle Ages.