Explaining Tatars tea-loving nature, and the ‘never-ending teatime’
Tea this time — black Ceylon — was served in Turkish glasses (‘Armuts’) and an Uzbek-style tea set. Photo from the author's family archive, used with permission. One of the biggest cultural shocks for a Turkic person in Europe often occurs when ordering tea in a café or drinking it at a European friend’s home. A Turkic person might struggle to hide their facial expression — surprise and disappointment — when they receive tea in a tea bag. This is because freshly brewed loose-leaf tea is not just commonplace for a Turkic person, but also a measure of hospitality. In the life of the Tatars, tea ...