Page 68 - @ccess 2 Reader´s Book
P. 68

My grandmother and I spent endless evenings at the
              table, with the samovar as a centerpiece, drinking one
              cup of tea after another, eating sweets and pies, and, of
              course, talking, talking and talking.


              We were not concerned about caffeine, drinking liters
              of strong black tea right before going to bed (I still have
              not internalized the fact that tea can keep you awake and
              always drink strong tea before bed, sleeping soundly
              every night), neither were we worried about extra
              calories (I was too young to worry about my figure, my
              granny too old to bother).

              In Russia, drinking tea involves more than just consuming
              caffeinated liquid. It is a must to serve this drink with
              accompanying snacks, be that homemade jam,
              honey, or one of many Russian sweets: ginger cookies,
              caramels or chocolates, thin crunchy waffles, tiny hard
              bread rings peppered with poppy seeds, chocolates called
              “ptichye moloko” (literally “the bird’s milk,” these chocolates’
              filling is reminiscent of a mixture of jelly and marshmallows),
              or a piece of layered honey cake, “medovik.”


              No one in
              Russia serves
              just plain tea. I
              came to regret
              this custom a
              bit when I grew
              up and started
              worrying about
              extra calories.
              My work as a
              journalist sent
              me traveling






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