Imperial Russia was attempting to engage China and Japan in trade at the same time as the East Indian Company. The Russian interest in tea began as early as 1618 when the Chinese embassy in Moscow presented several chests of tea to Czar Alexis. The cost of tea was initially prohibitive and available only to the wealthy. By the time Catherine the Great died (1796), the price had dropped some, and tea was spreading throughout Russian society.

Tea is always served in couple; little teapot with brewing and samovar with boiling water that was a pure Russian invention. Placed in the center of the Russian home, it could run all day and serve up to forty cups of tea at a time. Guests sipped their tea from glasses in silver holders, very similar to Turkish coffee cups. Sugar was very expensive, that's why they drank unsweetened tea while holding a piece of loafsugar in the mouth. True professionals could drink 6-7 cups of tea with one piece of sugar! Tea was ideally suited to Russian life: hearty, warm, and sustaining.