Traditional Tea Culture

Tea drinking traditions are one of the Things About Azerbaijan You Should Know and are one of the most notable aspects of Azerbaijani culture. Tea is virtually considered sacrosanct. The vibrantly colored beverage is poured into a pear-shaped glass known as an armada and served without milk. A cube of sugar is served alongside, and residents take a nibble before sipping the tea. The origins of this eccentric aesthetic can be traced back to medieval times when paranoid monarchs were fearful of poison assassination. When sugar is dipped into tea, it appears to respond to the poison.

To add taste, tea is occasionally spiced with cinnamon, cardamom leaves, or a slice of lemon or ginger. Although Azerbaijanis prefer sweet tea, they do not add sugar straight to the drink; instead, they dunk a sugar cube, bite off a piece, and sip their tea. This procedure is thought to have medieval origins when rulers who were fearful of being poisoned tested their tea by dunking a piece of sugar in the liquid, which was supposed to react to the sugar if the tea was poisonous. The drink is frequently served with fig, strawberry, apricot, walnut, blackberry, and other jams. It's no surprise that residents drink tea with a snack, or as a dishelm, which translates to "bite" in Azerbaijani.