Iran is one of the biggest tea-drinking nations. Tea is very important part of Iranian culture. Back in 16th century coffee was more popular than tea but then habits got changed and tea was the main drink that people drank since then. At that time, they were shipping tea from China, which was easy because of the silk road trading path.
Iranian people started to cultivate tea in Iran in 1899 in the region of Gilan. Gilan was the house of first Iranian tea farms. Gilan is located in the south of the Caspian Sea, so it had the most suitable climate for harvest tea. All started from there and nowadays there are more than 100 factories and thousands of hectares of tea farms in Iran.
Iranian tea, which is called chai, is famous for its color and taste, the taste is different than tea in other countries. In Iran, they never add milk to Iranian tea. The color of tea defines the quality of the tea, it is red-brownish color. Usually people make chai in samovar or kettles and put a teapot on top of them. Sometimes saffron, coriander, cinnamon and cloves are added in the tea.
In Iranian household chai is always ready whenever you want.
Iranian combine chai with everything; breakfast, after lunch, watching television or just gathering with family and friends. It is always present.
People tend to drink tea with sugar cubes called ghand or candy called nabat. And it is common to eat something sweet in the evening with tea. The most popular sweets are sohan, gaz, zulbia and homemade baklava.
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