Ingredients
Tea
- 2 tsploose green tea
- 1 litrewater
To serve
- piyola bowls
- sugar cubes or nabot
- dried apricots, raisins and nuts
Directions
- Rinse the teapot out with boiling water first, so that the pot is hot before the leaves go in.
- Put the leaves into the warmed pot.
- Boil the water and let it stand a minute or two to fall to around 80°C (175°F).
- Water straight off a rolling boil scorches green tea and turns it harsh. Letting it cool a little is the single thing that separates good choyi kabud from something stewed.
- Pour a little water over the leaves, swirl it around, and pour it away.
- Fill the pot and let it stand for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Now the qaytar: pour a bowlful out and pour it straight back into the pot, three times.
- Those three pours mix the strong tea at the bottom with the weak at the top, and they are done in front of the guest as a visible courtesy rather than as a piece of technique.
- Pour into piyola, the small handleless bowls, filling each only about half.
- Half-fill the bowl. A full bowl in Central Asia tells the guest you want them to leave; a half-full one says you expect to pour again, and refilling often is the attention itself.
- Serve with sugar or nabot crystals, dried apricots, raisins and nuts alongside.
- It opens and closes every meal and is drunk all day, in summer especially, when hot tea is held to cool you better than cold water does.
Technique
- Green tea is the everyday tea of Tajikistan, with black choyi siyoh more common in the north and through winter.
- The teapot is never filled to the brim either, for much the same reason as the bowl.
- Tea is poured for the oldest guest first and the youngest last.
Substitutions
- Any loose green tea, though gunpowder green is what is sold across the region.
- A piece of nabot, rock sugar, dropped in the bowl instead of loose sugar.
Variations
- Choyi siyoh, the black tea version.
- Shirchoy, tea boiled with milk, salt and butter.
- With a spoonful of jam served alongside rather than stirred in.
History
Drunk from piyola bowls all day; the host pours a little at a time as a sign of attention.
Frequently asked questions
What is Green tea?
Green tea is a drink from Tajikistan: green tea opening and closing every meal. Drunk from piyola bowls all day; the host pours a little at a time as a sign of attention.
How long does Green tea take to make?
Green tea takes 5 min of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 pot. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Green tea?
Yes, within limits. Any loose green tea, though gunpowder green is what is sold across the region. A piece of nabot, rock sugar, dropped in the bowl instead of loose sugar.
What is the most important thing to get right in Green tea?
Those three pours mix the strong tea at the bottom with the weak at the top, and they are done in front of the guest as a visible courtesy rather than as a piece of technique.
