Tea may be as much of a Russian tradition as vodka, but it's taken a while for St. Petersburg's culinary revolution to extend to the provision of good-quality tea to the populace. There are, however, a handful of outlets in the city that won't disappoint tea connoisseurs.
The traditional Russian method of making and consuming tea - brewing a thick black stew in the teapot and then diluting it in the cup with boiling water from the samovar - doesn't translate easily to a commercial setting, so perhaps its no surprise that getting a good cup of tea out in St. Petersburg can take some effort.
Look hard enough, however, and you'll find a tempting selection of gourmet teas served in outlets that draw on Russia's southern neighbors for inspiration, the pick of which are listed below.
