Russian TeaI III RUSSIAN TEA Day faded; on the table, glowing, the samovar of evening boiled (A. Pushkin) Act I Scene III The inspiration behind Russian Tea is the memory of a trip to Saint Petersburg, where Alessandro and Riccardo happened to drink an afternoon tea in an elegant caf inside a large bookstore at the first floor of a sumptuous Art Noveau building. Sitting on a round table by the wide windows, with the beautiful view of a snow covered Nevsky