Tea-Loving Russians Are Switching to Coffee 

(Bloomberg) -- As the land of the samovar, Russia has historically been viewed as a tea-drinking culture. Not any more, according to an industry lobby group which says coffee is now the nation’s preferred cuppa.

Coffee consumption rose 12% in Russia last year to 180,000 tons, overtaking tea for the first time, the RusTeaCoffee association said in a newsletter on its website. Demand for tea fell 8.5% to 139,000 tons in the same period, it said.

“Since the Communist era, Russians have preferred tea, while coffee was considered an elite drink,” RusTeaCoffee head Ramaz Chanturiya said Thursday by phone. “Over the last decades, coffee has been growing and finally won, led by the younger generation’s consumption outside of the home.”

While many Russians have embraced the global trend toward drinking in coffee chains and hipster work spaces in recent years, as well as on-the-go, the coronavirus pandemic may aid tea’s revival with millions of people ordered to stay home for the past six weeks.

Amid closures of cafes in Moscow and other major cities during lockdowns, Russians working from home prefer to drink tea - especially with lemon or ginger - to strengthen their immunity, according to Chanturiya.

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