In the Yuan Dynasty, with the expedition of Mongols, the tea culture in China spread far away. But for Russians, their first contact with tea was in the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, during the period of Mu Zong in the Ming Dynasty (1567), Petrov and Aleshev, two Cossack leaders, came to China for tea for the first time. After returning home, they described this magical drink from the Far East to the czars and nobles at that time. However, I may not have any personal experience. This description did not interest the tsar.

It was not until 1638 that the Russian court really came into contact with tea for the first time. At that time, Russian envoy Strakov was ordered by the czar to visit Khan in Mongolia and brought precious sable as an audience gift. In return, Khan returned 4 putters (about 64 kilograms) of brick tea. After the emissary returned to St. Petersburg, the czar ordered people to make tea for the nobles to taste. After drinking tea, everyone praised the smell. Since then, Russians have started the history of drinking tea.

This is different from the current "flying into the homes of ordinary people". At that time, tea was a typical imported luxury in Russia, and only nobles and rich people could drink it. It was also because of meeting the needs of the nobility that Russia and the Qing Dynasty started the tea trade.

During the Qianlong period, a large amount of tea began to be imported into Russia, and the Russian tea market also expanded from Moscow to other provinces. In the19th century, drinking tea was very popular in all walks of life in Russia, and tea began to become a popular drink.

However, with the popularity of tea, tea quickly became "Russian". Unlike China, people in China can quench their thirst, have a cup of tea to refresh themselves, or think hard. Russians have included tea in their daily diet. Not only do they drink afternoon tea and afternoon tea, but sometimes they directly replace one of the three meals with tea or add it. Russia's favorite tea is strong tea such as black tea. Like English, the literal translation of black tea in Russian also means "black tea", which may be named because of its color and concentration.

Russians prefer sweet tea. When drinking black tea, they usually add sugar, honey, lemon slices, and sometimes vanilla, jam or milk. In addition, cakes, biscuits, bread, cakes with milk residue and other "snacks" are usually served on large plates. In rural areas, "black bread and sweet tea" is often used as a standard for entertaining guests, and this eating method is sometimes used to judge whether diners are authentic Russians.