Russia remains the country of tea

When choosing between tea and coffee, the majority of Russians choose the first. Many Russians will not refuse from a cup of coffee either, although tea remains the most popular hot drink in the country. Russia is a tea country, specialists of Superjob.ru concluded in their research. When answering the question: "What do you prefer- tea or coffee?" 62% of respondents said - tea. 

Tea is equally popular among Russian males and females. Most Russians have packs of various sorts of teas at home, which they drink several tor even many times a day, every day.

The number of coffee lovers is smaller - 31%. Many Russians switch to coffee as they get older. There are 31% of coffee fans among young people under 24. After 45, the index grows to 34%, the research said.

The choice of drink depends on professional knowledge of the polled. The largest percentage of tea lovers was registered among ecologists - 75%. Architects and engineers also love tea - 72 and 71% respectively.

Many of those who like tea, say that this drink is both tasty and healthful: "I like green tea, because it helps me stay young." "It exhilarates me and doesn't cause heartthrob." "It purifies the body." "I like coffee more, but drink less of it because it can be harmful."

Coffee fans can be found among the professional groups that stipulate long and hard activities. The number of coffee lovers in Russia is the largest among nurses (46%), personal drivers and analysts (41% each). There is nothing surprising about this fact: nurses often have night shifts, drivers have very long working days, so they are forced to drink coffee to cheer themselves up a bit.

The comments received about coffee were the following: "I have to drink three or four cups of coffee a day, otherwise I just fall asleep." "I like tea a lot too, but I drink coffee at work." "Coffee makes my brain work faster, and I work better," respondents said.

Some respondents (7%) found it difficult to answer the question of drinking preferences.

It is worthy of note that certain kinds of such widely spread colonial goods as tea and coffee are included on the list of world's most expensive food products.

The most expensive tea in the world - Da Hong Pao - is harvested from only six bushes that grow in China. The Chinese say that the bushes are 350 years old. Not more than 500 grams of this tea is harvested from the bushes a year. In 2005, 20 grams of this tea were auctioned for $25,000.

The story of the most expensive coffee in the world is more exotic. The most delicious coffee is produced from the beans of coffee berries that have been previously eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and then passed though its digestive tract. Farmers collect the beans from the excrement of those animals and then sell the beans for $300-400 per kilo.

Anatoly Miranovsky.