Samovar

A samovar (Russian: самовар, IPA: [səmɐˈvar] ( listen); literally "self-boiler", Persian: سماور, Turkish: semaver) is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia, as well as in other Central, South-Eastern, Eastern European countries, Kashmir and in the Middle-East. Since the heated water is usually used for making tea, many samovars have a ring-shaped attachment (Russian: конфорка) seated around the chimney to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea concentrate.[1]

Though traditionally heated with coal or charcoal, many newer samovars use electricity and heat water in a similar manner as an electric water boiler. Antique samovars are often displayed for their beautiful workmanship.

Samovars come in different body shapes: urn- or krater-shaped, barrel, cylindric, spherical.

A typical samovar consists of a body, base and chimney, cover and steam vent, handles, faucet and key, crown and ring, chimney extension and cap, drip-bowl, and teapots.


The Merchant's Wife by Boris Kustodiev, showcasing the Russian tea culture.A traditional samovar consists of a large metal container with a faucet near the bottom and a metal pipe running vertically through the middle. Samovars are typically crafted out of copper, brass, bronze, silver, gold, tin or nickel. The pipe is filled with solid fuel to heat the water in the surrounding container. A small (6 to 8 inches) smoke-stack is put on the top to ensure draft. After the fire is off a teapot could be placed on top to be kept heated with the passing hot air. The teapot is used to brew the заварка (zavarka), a strong concentrate of tea. The tea is served by diluting this concentrate with кипяток (kipyatok) (boiled water) from the main container, usually at a ratio of about 10 parts water to one part tea concentrate, although tastes vary.

It is particularly well-suited to tea-drinking in a communal setting over a protracted period. The Russian expression "to have a sit by samovar" means to have a leisurely talk while drinking tea from samovar. This compares with the German Kaffeeklatsch, or Turkish nargile culture.

In everyday use it was an economical permanent source of hot water in older times. Various slow-burning items could be used for fuel, such as charcoal or dry pinecones. When not in use, the fire in the samovar pipe was faintly smouldering. When necessary, it was quickly rekindled with the help of bellows. Although a Russian jackboot сапог (sapog) could be used for this purpose, there were bellows manufactured specifically for use on samovars.

The samovar was an important attribute of a Russian household. Sizes and designs varied, from "40-pail" ones of 400 litres (110 US gal) to 1 litre (0.26 US gal) size, from cylindrical to spherical, from plain iron to polished brass to gilt.

In modern times, the samovar is mostly associated with Russian exotica and nostalgia[citation needed], though they are also quite popular with Iranian immigrants and their descendants. Today electric samovars are available. Samovars may be purchased in Europe, and in the US they may be found in neighborhoods with heavily Slavic populations, such as New York's East Village or Coney Island in Brooklyn, or in areas with large Iranian populations like Los Angeles, California.

An 18th-century samovar of Baroque shape, depicted on a 1989 USSR postage stamp
Barrel type samovar from early 1800s
Samovar, ca 1830-40, depicted on a 1989 USSR postage stamp
A Late Classical samovar, ca 1840-50, depicted on a 1989 USSR postage stamp

In 1989, an archeological dig near Dashust village, Shaki district, Azerbaijan unearthed a pottery samovar-like utensil identified by a characteristic central tube covered with soot, suggesting it was heated from the inside. It didn't look like modern samovars, though. In particular, the tube was open from the bottom, suggesting that it was placed over a fire like an ordinary pot. The age of the utensil was indirectly estimated at about 3,600 years.[2]

There were similar devices found in China.[3]

An owner of a unique collection of samovars, Shakhid Gabibullaev, has a modern-type samovar manufactured in 1717, the first known samovar.[citation needed]

The first historically recorded samovar-makers in Russia were the Lisitsyn brothers, Ivan Fyodorovich and Nazar Fyodorovich. From their childhood they were engaged in metalworking at the brass factory of their father Fyodor Ivanovich Lisitsyn. In 1778 they made a samovar, and the same year Nazar Lisitsyn registered the first samovar-making factory in Russia. They may not have been the inventors of samovar, but they were the first documented samovar-makers, and their various and beautiful samovar designs became very influential throughout the later history of samovar-making.[4] These and other early producers lived in Tula, a city known for its metalworkers and arms-makers. Since the 18th century Tula has been also the main center of Russian samovar production, with tul'sky samovar being the brand mark of the city. By the 19th century samovars were already a common feature of the Russian tea culture. They were produced in large numbers and exported into Central Asia and other regions.