Indian tea "with an elephant": composition, preparation method and reviews. Tea in the ussr only female fingers
In the period 1917-1923, Soviet Russia experienced a "tea" period: the use of alcoholic beverages was officially prohibited, while the army and industrial workers were supplied with tea free of charge.
The organization "Tsentrochay" was created, which was engaged in the distribution of tea from confiscated warehouses of tea trading companies. The reserves were so great that until 1923 there was no need to buy tea abroad ...
By the end of the 1970s, the area for tea in the USSR reached 97 thousand hectares, there were 80 modern tea enterprises in the country. Only in Georgia 95 thousand tons of ready-made tea were produced per year. By 1986, the total production of tea in the USSR reached 150 thousand tons, slab black and green - 8 thousand tons, green brick - 9 thousand tons.
In the 1950s - 1970s, the USSR turned into a tea-exporting country - Georgian, Azerbaijani and Krasnodar teas were supplied to Poland, the GDR, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, South Yemen, Mongolia. Mainly brick and tiled tea went to Asia. The USSR's need for tea was met by its own production, in different years, by an amount from 2/3 to 3/4. 
By the 1970s, at the level of the leadership of the USSR, a decision was already ripe to specialize areas suitable for tea production in such a production. It was supposed to seize the land used for other crops and transfer them to tea production.
However, these plans were never realized. Moreover, under the pretext of getting rid of manual labor, by the beginning of the 1980s, manual collection of tea leaves was almost completely stopped in Georgia, having switched entirely to machine picking, which gives extremely low quality products.
The import of tea from China continued until 1970. Subsequently, Chinese imports were curtailed, purchases of tea began in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania. Since the quality of Georgian tea, in comparison with imported tea, was not high (mainly due to attempts to mechanize the collection of tea leaves), mixing of imported teas with Georgian tea was actively practiced, as a result of which a product of acceptable quality and price was obtained. 
By the early 1980s, it became almost impossible to buy pure Indian or Ceylon tea in ordinary stores - it was imported extremely rarely and in small batches, it was instantly sold out. Sometimes Indian tea was brought into canteens and canteens of enterprises and institutions. At this time, shops usually sold low-grade Georgian tea with "wood" and "hay flavor". The following brands were also sold, but were rare:
Tea No. 36 (Georgian and 36% Indian) (green packaging)
Tea No. 20 (Georgian and 20% Indian) (green packaging)
Krasnodar premium tea
Georgian tea of the highest grade
Georgian tea first grade
Georgian tea second grade
The quality of Georgian tea was disgusting. "Georgian tea of the second grade" looked like sawdust, there were occasionally pieces of branches in it (they were called "firewood"), it smelled of tobacco and had a disgusting taste. 
Krasnodar was considered even worse than Georgian. Basically, it was bought for brewing "chifir" - a drink obtained by long-term digestion of highly concentrated brew. For its preparation, neither the smell nor the taste of tea was important - only the amount of tein (tea caffeine) was important ... 
More or less normal tea, which could be drunk normally, was considered "Tea No. 36" or as it was usually called "thirty-sixth". When he was "thrown" on the counters, a line of an hour and a half formed immediately. And they gave strictly "two packs in one hand." 
This usually happened at the end of the month. when the store urgently needed to "get a plan". The pack was one hundred grams, one pack was enough for a maximum of a week. And then with a very economical expenditure.
Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For the first grade Indian tea, a green-red packaging was used.
Tea sold as Indian tea has not always really been that. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea. 
Own production of tea after 1980 dropped significantly, the quality deteriorated. Since the mid-1980s, progressive commodity shortages have affected essential goods, including sugar and tea.
At the same time, the internal economic processes of the USSR coincided with the death of Indian and Ceylon tea plantations (another period of growth came to an end) and an increase in world prices for tea. As a result, tea, like a number of other food products, almost disappeared from the free sale and began to be sold with coupons. 
Only low-grade tea in some cases could be bought freely. Subsequently, Turkish tea was bought in large quantities, which was very poorly brewed. It was sold in bulk without coupons. In the same years, green tea appeared on sale in the middle zone and in the north of the country, which was practically not imported to these regions before. It was also sold freely. 
There was also tea served in canteens and on long-distance trains. It cost three kopecks, but it was better not to drink it. especially in canteens. It was done this way - an old, already brewed tea leaves were taken, baking soda was added to it and all this was boiled over for fifteen to twenty minutes. If the color was not dark enough, burnt sugar was added. Naturally, no claims to quality were accepted - "if you don't like it, don't drink it." 
In the first years after the collapse of the USSR, both Russian and Georgian tea production was completely abandoned. Georgia had no reason to maintain this production, since its only market was Russia, which, due to the decline in the quality of Georgian tea, had already reoriented itself to buying tea in other states.
The tea production of Azerbaijan has survived, which currently satisfies part of the country's domestic demand for tea. Some of the Georgian tea plantations are still abandoned. In Russia, several own companies have now been created - importers of tea, as well as small representative offices of foreign ones. 
Many people today don't even know what a deficit is. But literally thirty years ago in the USSR, people stood in lines for hours to buy products, the range of which left much to be desired. This is exactly what our country was like in the seventies and eighties of the last century. It was at that time that the Soviet people were able to taste Indian tea for the first time. Today we will tell you all about black tea "with an elephant", which was considered one of the best products of a bygone era.
Own tea industry
Initially, there was only domestic Georgian tea in the USSR. It was a real breakthrough in the industrial industry, and the drink was even exported to other countries, where it became popular. That is why the authorities decided to expand production and switched from manual work to machine work, which became the reason for the loss of the former quality, since mechanisms, unlike people, could not recognize good tea leaves from unsuitable ones. In the seventies, the tea industry in the USSR collapsed, the state suffered losses and began to decide what to do with it.
Appearance on the shelves of tea "with an elephant"
Many people who have faced the times of the USSR sadly recall those times when both "the grass was greener, and the sky was cleaner", and the products were of the highest quality, in comparison with them even imported products were useless. But many did not even suspect at that time that they were drinking tea collected not on the territory of their beloved homeland, but far beyond its borders.
It so happened that it fell into disrepair, so the USSR entered into an agreement for the supply of tea with countries such as Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, India and Vietnam. Our state fell out with its previous importer, China, which could also supply tea, and therefore did not use its services. So, in order not to lose face in front of their citizens, factories began to pass off imported tea as domestic, they added bad Georgian leaves so that they would not be wasted. Since tea came in bulk in bulk, it was easy to do it, without losses. Initially, this scam went well, but nevertheless, the "domestic" tea was replaced by the same Indian tea "with an elephant." The citizens really fell in love with him.
The history of the creation of tea "with an elephant"
How did tea "with an elephant" appear on the shelves of domestic stores? The development of the recipe, according to some sources, belongs to the tea-packing factory of Irkutsk, according to others - to the Moscow tea factory. But this is not so important now, and even then very few people asked this question. The main thing is that the recipe was so successful that tea "with an elephant" was really distinguished from all other drinks. This tea was distinguished not only by its bright and strong taste, but also by its packaging, which was specially developed in 1967, and Indian tea "with an elephant" entered the market in 1972.
Tea composition
But again, it was not real Indian tea, but a blend (mixture). This tea included varieties of Georgian, Madagascar, and Ceylon leaves.
Tea "with an elephant" was divided into the highest and first grade, their composition was significantly different. The packaging of the first grade contained only 15% of tea from India, 5% from Ceylon, 25% from Madagascar, and as much as 55% of leaves from Georgia.
That's why the highest, and therefore the real Indian tea in it was one third, and two thirds belonged to the Georgian.
Each of the varieties adhered to the requirements of GOST and TU, only the premium Darjeeling was added to Indian tea. This tea was produced in factories in Moscow, Irkutsk, Ryazan, Ufa, Odessa. Each production facility had its own tasters, whose duties included making the necessary mixture from the purchased varieties so that all the qualities matched the product (taste, aroma, smell, color and price). Each factory was already quite self-sufficient and itself entered into contracts for the supply of tea with each country.
Packaging design
Since the tea was produced in two varieties, they had to be distinguished visually as well. So, on the packaging of the first grade, the elephant had a blue head color, and on the premium tea, it was green. Over time, the design changed, and each of the factories had its own differences. There was only one thing: cardboard packaging, an elephant.
What kind of decoration did the tea "with an elephant" have? Let's take a look at the most memorable variations: the color of the packaging was both white and orange, but we are more familiar with yellow. The elephants themselves were also different, there were packages where one elephant with a trunk lowered down walks to the left, there were also three elephants walking in the same direction, and also with a lowered trunk. The most striking example of a drawing - which with a raised trunk stands against the background of an Indian city, and the domes are clearly visible. A driver sat on all of the above listed elephants.
Why do we remember the yellow tea package more, where the elephant is against the background of India, and its trunk looks up? The fact is that due to the popularity of tea, and sometimes its absence on the shelves, counterfeits often began to appear, where there was no smell of Indian tea, and most of the composition belonged to Turkish of terrible quality. In this regard, citizens began to give preference to one type of packaging, which was rarely counterfeited due to a more saturated pattern.
Epoch symbol
When remembering the times of the USSR, the image of that tea, that very elephant, soft cardboard packaging, emerges vividly. Along with many products of that era (take the same condensed milk), this tea remains recognizable even in the 2000s, and more than seventy percent of the population of the former Soviet Union can remember it.
Tea "with an elephant" (price for 50 grams - 48 kopecks, and for 125 - 95 kopecks) was loved by everyone. The presence of this drink in the house spoke of a stable income for the family.
But, like all good things, once tea "with an elephant" disappeared from the shelves. The USSR collapsed, and tea could still be found for some time, then it was simply swept off the shelves.
Brewing rules
Many housewives made a terrible mistake when they pulled out white sticks from the pack "with an elephant" and, mistaking them for garbage, simply threw them away. After such cleaning, it was impossible to fully feel the taste of the tea, since those sticks were tips (tea buds), and these are the raw materials of the highest quality.
This tea is brewed in the same way as all other varieties. Pour the required amount of tea leaves into a teapot treated with boiling water, pour boiling water over it. Let it brew for at least ten minutes, you can dilute it with milk.
Someone’s morning starts with coffee, someone else’s tea. And, remembering the past, it would be interesting to know how tea got to the USSR and what it was like.
This is what we'll talk about now)
In the period 1917-1923, Soviet Russia went through a "tea" period: the use of alcoholic beverages was officially prohibited, while the army and industrial workers were supplied with tea free of charge. The organization "Tsentrochay" was created, which was engaged in the distribution of tea from confiscated warehouses of tea trading companies. The stocks were so great that until 1923 there was no need to buy tea abroad.
The Soviet leadership paid great attention to the development of domestic tea production. It is known that V. I. Lenin and I. V. Stalin loved and constantly drank tea. In the 1920s, a special program was adopted to develop the tea business in the country. The Anaseulsky Research Institute of Tea, Tea Industry and Subtropical Crops was established, the purpose of which was in breeding work to develop new varieties of tea. Several dozen tea factories were built in different regions of Western Georgia. The regular planting of tea plantations began (the old ones were completely destroyed by 1920). Tea production developed in Azerbaijan and the Krasnodar Territory. Everything possible was done to weaken the country's dependence on tea supplies from abroad.
By the end of the 1970s, the area for tea in the USSR reached 97 thousand hectares, there were 80 modern tea enterprises in the country. Only in Georgia 95 thousand tons of ready-made tea were produced per year. By 1986, the total production of tea in the USSR reached 150 thousand tons, slab black and green - 8 thousand tons, green brick - 9 thousand tons. In the 1950s - 1970s, the USSR turned into a tea-exporting country - Georgian, Azerbaijani and Krasnodar teas were supplied to Poland, the GDR, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, South Yemen, Mongolia. Mainly brick and tiled tea went to Asia. The USSR's need for tea was met by its own production, in different years, by an amount from 2/3 to 3/4.
By the 1970s, at the level of the leadership of the USSR, a decision was already ripe to specialize areas suitable for tea production in such a production. It was supposed to seize the land used for other crops and transfer them to tea production. However, these plans were never realized. Moreover, under the pretext of getting rid of manual labor, by the beginning of the 1980s, manual collection of tea leaves was almost completely stopped in Georgia, having switched entirely to machine picking, which gives extremely low quality products.
The import of tea from China continued until 1970. Subsequently, Chinese imports were curtailed, purchases of tea began in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania. Since the quality of Georgian tea, in comparison with imported tea, was not high (mainly due to attempts to mechanize the collection of tea leaves), mixing of imported teas with Georgian tea was actively practiced, as a result of which a product of acceptable quality and price was obtained.
By the early 1980s, it became almost impossible to buy pure Indian or Ceylon tea in ordinary stores - it was imported extremely rarely and in small batches, it was instantly sold out. Sometimes Indian tea was brought into canteens and canteens of enterprises and institutions.
At this time, shops usually sold low-grade Georgian tea with "wood" and the aroma of hay. The following brands were also sold, but were rare:
- Tea No. 36 (Georgian and 36% Indian) (green packaging)
- Tea No. 20 (Georgian and 20% Indian) (green packaging)
- Krasnodar premium tea
- Georgian tea of the highest grade
- Georgian tea first grade
- Georgian tea, second grade
Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For the first grade Indian tea, a green-red packaging was used. Tea sold as Indian in stores has not always been the same. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea.
Own production of tea after 1980 dropped significantly, the quality deteriorated. Since the mid-1980s, progressive commodity shortages have affected essential goods, including sugar and tea. At the same time, the internal economic processes of the USSR coincided with the death of Indian and Ceylon tea plantations (another period of growth came to an end) and an increase in world prices for tea. As a result, tea, like a number of other food products, almost disappeared from the free sale and began to be sold with coupons. Only low-grade tea in some cases could be bought freely. Subsequently, Turkish tea was bought in large quantities, which was very poorly brewed. It was sold in bulk without coupons. In the same years, green tea appeared on sale in the middle zone and in the north of the country, which was practically not imported to these regions before. It was also sold freely.
In the first years after the collapse of the USSR, both Russian and Georgian tea production was completely abandoned. Georgia had no reason to maintain this production, since its only market was Russia, which, due to the decline in the quality of Georgian tea, had already reoriented itself to buying tea in other states. The tea production of Azerbaijan has survived, which currently satisfies part of the country's domestic demand for tea. Some of the Georgian tea plantations are still abandoned. In Russia, several own companies have now been created - importers of tea, as well as small representative offices of foreign ones.
Who remembers tea from the USSR?)
Original taken from
The AIF columnist tried to figure out which tea leaf was supplied from India to the USSR and what is being brought to Russia now, and at the same time to find out how the locals relate to tea. The result was completely unexpected.
- Where do you have tea there?
- To the left, the whole department. You will see right away.
Easy to say. Looking into a large supermarket in Delhi, I rummaged through several shelves before stumbling upon loose black tea familiar from childhood. It is not surprising - after all, the culture of tea drinking in India is different from the one we are used to. Instant (!) Is popular - yes, like coffee - tea, which is poured with boiling water, as well as the "granular version" - leaves rolled into solid balls. “Normal” tea, as we understand it, is not easy to find in India. In the morning, here they drink masala tea from glass glasses - a tea infusion with milk (the harmful influence of the British colonialists) and masala spices containing pepper and spices. You swallow such "happiness", and your tongue burns - so sharp. But that's okay. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, where many Tibetans live, they prefer tea with yak oil and ... dried chicken powder. And drink and breakfast at the same time. Some tribes (in particular, the Gurkhas) do not brew anything at all, but simply chew tea leaves with ... garlic. In general, the naive idea of India as a tea country collapses from the very first days of his stay.
Only female fingers
“Extensive tea plantations in India appeared only in 1856 - English planters brought the seedlings from China,” explains one of the tea businessmen. Abdul-Wahid Jamarati... - Before that, only wild varieties grew here. Tea is now grown in three mountainous regions. In the north-east of India - in Darjeeling and the state of Assam, as well as in the south - Nilgiri tea is produced there. Cool weather and frequent rains are essential for the taste: the leaves love to absorb moisture. The most fragrant tea is picked only by hand and only by women (their salary is about 5 thousand rubles a month for Russian money. - Author): men's fingers are coarser and cannot pinch off the youngest shoots - flushes. During machine harvesting, everything is cut off, so these varieties are cheap: experts cynically call them a broom. Personally, I am an ardent fan of tea, which is harvested in Darjeeling from February to May, it has a very bright and rich taste. By the way, never buy tea in bazaars, where it is poured into open bags and kept outdoors all day. The aroma of such a leaf disappears: it turns into chopped hay. I was in Russia and saw that you store the leaves incorrectly. Tea should be put in the refrigerator, at a temperature of + 8 °, so it concentrates its qualities. Do not keep it in a paper box, the best option is an ordinary glass jar. "
The most aromatic tea is collected only by hand and only by women. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Darjeeling plantations are mesmerizing - huge mountains covered with green tea bushes. My guide, 28-year-old Lakshmi from Tamil Nadu state, assures that she is happy with the position: “It's not coal to be mined in the devil's depths in a mine”. She considers herself a professional in the tea business, as she is able to collect 80 kg (!) Of leaves per day. The machine, by the way, collects 1.5 tons, but it is very small: we drink this dust later, brewing tea bags. Rubbing the delicate leaves of a tea bush with his fingers, Lakshmi reports: they grow back in two weeks, and in a year one plant can accumulate 70 kg of tea (in Assam, 2.5 times more). True, now some site owners are planting artificially bred varieties - the taste is not a fountain, but they will cut 100 kilos in six months. Alas, there are a lot of different shenanigans with tea in India.
For example, empty cans and packs with the words "Elite" or "Selected" are freely sold in the nearby shops, and unscrupulous traders pour penny varieties there: after all, only experienced tasters abroad can determine the quality of tea.
What's in the brew?
“Unfortunately, small firms often use up good tea,” they tell me at the plantation. "They throw in cheap versions of Kenyan or Malaysian, put the stamp" Made in India "- and the pack goes to the international market." How much fake tea is sold in Russia, Darjeeling could not estimate. The British (and in Britain they love Indian tea no less than ours) carefully monitor the quality and strictly check the suppliers. Do they do this with us?
“Frankly speaking, even the tea that the USSR bought can hardly be called Indian,” says businessman Vijay Sharma, whose firm sold tea to the Soviet Union in the late 1970s. - It was a blend, a mixture. Depending on the variety, in the pack with the image of an elephant, famous in Soviet times, the share of tea from India was only 15-25%. The main filler (over 50%) was Georgian leaf. And even now, things are not very good. I tried tea from sellers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, it turned out that they have no idea what period the collection (the taste depends on) of "Darjeeling". And what's more, Nilgiri tea is often sold in your country as an “elite” one, although in India it is the cheapest drink for the poor, it is it that is packed in bags. In some places, under the guise of Indian, they sold Indonesian or Vietnamese tea.
A cup of red pepper
I order tea at a street cafe in Delhi. It is usually cooked in an iron teapot (or even in a saucepan) over an open fire. The leaves are sometimes boiled immediately in milk (at the request of the client) or in water, after adding cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and chili. In general, from the outside it is similar to making soup. A glass costs 15 rupees (13.5 rubles). It tastes strange, and almost ten spoons are poured in sugar: in India they adore sweet tea to the extreme. I ask you to brew black Assamese leaves without milk and spices. The waiter appears with a glass of steaming tea and ... puts a jug of milk next to him. "Why?! I asked… ”“ Sir, ”his voice sounds with obvious pity. - But you will not taste good!
Summing up, I will say: the supply of Indian tea to our country is still chaotic, sellers are poorly versed in varieties or frankly fantasize, pushing low-quality tea leaves from other countries to the Russian consumer. I generally keep quiet about the price - in India, tea costs 130 rubles. per kilo, we can sell it for a thousand. Very sorry. Indian varieties, especially Darjeeling, are great, and our business has long had to work with India directly, and not buy tea at exorbitant prices through Europe and dubious small firms in India. It will be cheaper for us and, most importantly, tastier.
I am not a very whimsical person in everyday life. Despite the fact that now I earn quite good money, I buy groceries at Pyaterochka or Avoska and can hardly distinguish high-quality raw sausage from the cheapest counterfeit from it. In general, I am not a foodie. Not a gourmet at all. Therefore, I usually do not support discussions about "one hundred varieties of sausage" and their quality now and under the Soviet Socialist Republic. In the culinary sense, I gained practically nothing from the death of the USSR and the arrival of the market economy. Almost...
But there is one exception - I really love TEA. I drink five to fifteen glasses of tea every day. And I am glad that in post-Soviet Russia I can really drink tea, and not the heap that was called tea in the USSR. Why burdu - because no way, no "tea ceremonies" can make good tea from bad tea leaves. And the quality of the tea leaves sold in Soviet stores was, as they said then, below any criticism. In a relatively free sale in Soviet stores, one could buy the following varieties of tea:
- Tea N 36 (Georgian and 36% Indian) (green packaging)
- Tea N 20 (Georgian and 20% Indian) (green packaging)
- Krasnodar premium tea
- Georgian tea of the highest grade
- Georgian tea first grade
- Georgian tea second grade
- Krasnodar tea of the first, second and even THIRD grade
More or less normal tea, which could be drunk normally, was considered "Tea No. 36" or as it was usually called "thirty-sixth". When it was "thrown" on the counters, a line of an hour and a half formed immediately. And they gave strictly "two packs in one hand." This usually happened at the end of the month. when the store needed to "get a plan" urgently. The pack was one hundred grams, one pack was enough for a maximum of a week. And then with a very economical expenditure. 
Sometimes a miracle happened. In some thread of the food set for the holiday, it turned out to be INDIAN tea. Why in the set - because in stores (in ordinary stores in my native Krasnoyarsk) it was NEVER.
Indian tea sold in the USSR was imported in bulk and packaged at tea-packing factories in standard packaging - a cardboard box "with an elephant" 50 and 100 grams each (for premium tea). For the first grade Indian tea, a green-red packaging was used. Tea sold as Indian tea has not always really been that. Thus, in the 1980s, a mixture was sold as "first grade Indian tea", which included 55% Georgian, 25% Madagascar, 15% Indian and 5% Ceylon tea. 
Indian tea was a real SHORTAGE. They were speculating, they were giving them to friends, they were paid for small services, he was ... he was .. he was - TEA. He was invited to visit - come, I got some INDIAN TEA. In general, Indian tea was an EVENT. It seemed to me then that tea is better than Indian "with an elephant" and you can't think of something. No, of course there were legends about a certain tea called "Bouquet of Georgia", but I have never seen it, I do not even know what the packaging from it looked like. Or maybe he didn't exist ...
There was also tea served in canteens and on long-distance trains. It cost three kopecks, but it was better not to drink it. especially in canteens. It was done this way - an old, already brewed tea leaves were taken, baking soda was added to it and all this was boiled over for fifteen to twenty minutes. If the color was not dark enough, burnt sugar was added. Naturally, no claims to quality were accepted - "if you don't like it, don't drink it." I usually did not drink, I took compote or jelly instead of tea.
But now you can go to any cheap cafe and you will be offered a choice of 3-5 varieties of tea. Or go to the same "Avoska" and there choose a drink to your liking from the available 10-15 varieties. Or, as I periodically do, go to a special tea store and dig around for half an hour, choosing from one and a half hundred options placed on the shelves. Isn't that happiness?
So I exchanged the Soviet Union for more than a hundred varieties of sausage, I exchanged it for one and a half hundred varieties of tea. And I have no regrets ...