The origin of tea dates back to 5000 years ago in China. From there three hundred years later it reached Japan, where it was cultivated for 700 years and used, in the green variety, for its therapeutic and medicinal virtues. In the seventeenth century it was brought to England and only in the nineteenth did it begin to be produced in the rest of Asian countries, as well as in Africa and India. It was in fact from the Indian continent that he arrived in Iran in about 1900, at the time of Prince Haji Mohammad Mirza Kashef Al Saltaneh, consul in India, who imported the processing techniques during repeated travels. Its consumption spread quickly in the country, coexisting and managing to prevail in the national taste compared to coffee, a drink whose presence in Iran was a few centuries older, having spread widely with the Arab conquest starting as early as the sixteenth century. Since then, the so-called Qahve khane had sprung up everywhere in the Middle East and Iran was no exception, the coffee houses, places frequented mostly by men where one met to chat, talk business, discuss politics, literature , poetry, play chess and listen to storytellers and walking minstrels recite long epic poems.

With the spread of tea consumption, coffee houses have transformed into those that still today in Iran take the name of Chai Khhane, Tea Houses. Some, the most ancient, are truly fascinating places and worth visiting. Today it can certainly be said that tea is the national drink and one of the best qualities (Lahijan) is grown right in the north of Iran.

In an Iranian house there is the Samovar, a traditional kettle for making tea, which once worked on coal and is now electric; it is made up of two fundamental parts, the actual kettle and, above, a perforated steel ring nut through which the steam produced by the water kept constantly boiling passes; the teapot rests on top of the ring. In Iran, tea is drunk several times a day: at breakfast, after meals, in the afternoon, repeatedly during work or relaxation. It is offered with diligence to the guest as soon as he crosses the door of the house "a good tea takes away the tiredness" - say the Iranians, and refreshes the soul during the day.

To prepare a good tea, use low calcareous water and forget the packaged tea bags! Instead, choose pure tea, preferably black or green, in leaves and well preserved (ideally in airtight metal or glass boxes, as tea leaves lose their aroma very easily, absorb odors and are damaged humidity); not having a Samovar, you can use a normal kettle that has a not too narrow opening where you can place the teapot in a stable way. The best are terracotta or porcelain (don't prefer steel, aluminum or enameled teapots as they don't let the tea breathe). Heat the teapot by filling it with hot water and in the meantime bring the water in the kettle to a temperature close to boiling; when small bubbles begin to form on the surface, empty the teapot and pour as many teaspoons of tea as there are people you want to serve. Add a glass of water from the kettle and, after placing the teapot on the opening, wait at least 10 'for the steam to open and swell the leaves. Remember that neither the water nor the leaves must ever boil: they must be able to swell with the steam to release all their aroma and color. At this point, add more water until the teapot is full and when ready to serve pour a finger or two of tea from the teapot into each cup, and then fill with simple water from the kettle. The tea from the teapot is very strong and for this reason it should be diluted with boiling water (more or less depending on whether you prefer a strong or light tea); if you have some leftover, you can safely leave the teapot on the kettle for a few hours. Sweeten to taste.

In Iran, the preparation and tasting of tea is a simple and daily ritual. This drink should be enjoyed first with the nose, while the steam spreads its scent into the air, then with the eyes: this is why it is served in small glasses, of transparent glass, from which the color is clearly visible and the transparency is appreciable. .

If you travel to Iran, you will often notice the Iranians drinking bitter tea in small sips, slowly melting a lump of sugar into their mouths. A gesture with an ancient flavor is the one that still surfaces in those who usually sip their tea after having poured it in two or more shots in the saucer of the glass in order to make it cool faster and taste it at the right temperature. If you want, you can flavor your tea by adding to the leaves in the dried or fresh mint teapot or cardamom seeds. If you add a pinch of saffron to these, you will get a delicious and very characteristic flavor.
In the absence of Iranian tea, it is possible to obtain a fair mixture mixing in equal parts the two qualities Darjeeling and Earl Gray.