Armudu

Azeri tea in Armudu stəkan

Armudu or Armudu stəkan (Armudu glass), sometimes called Boğmalı is a kind of drinking glass used for black tea in Azerbaijan.

Introduction

Azerbaijani tea is usually served first when host receives guests. Tea serving and drinking is important component of Azerbaijani culture. Armudu which translates as "in the shape of a pear" or Boğmalı, which translates "narrow", as it is also called, remind a shape of a pear and is sometimes associated with a figure of a hostess in Azerbaijani culture.

The Armudu is made from variety of materials: glass, porcelain, faience, silver. Besides its aesthetic qualities, the Armudu also has thermophysical advantages. The narrower middle portion of the glass does not allow the hot liquid in the bottom of the glass to flow upwards but returns the warm flow to the bottom. This allows the tea to remain hot until it is consumed in full.^[1] The Armudu tea glasses are often 100 grams in weight. The tea is poured into the glass but not up to the top. Usually a gap of 1–2 cm which is called "dodağ yeri" ("place for lips" in Azerbaijani) in the folk, is left for the consumer's lips for comfortable drinking.^[2]

Shape

There are three reasons why the shape of the glass matters. Firstly, this type of glass is easy to hold because its top edge is wider than the middle which prevents it from slipping out of hands. Secondly, because the top part becomes less hot, it prevents from burning hands.^[3] Thirdly, it was proven that, unlike regular glasses and cups in which hot liquids cool evenly, the hot tea in Armudu glasses provides proportional cooling at the time of drinking allowing cooling of the tea in the top portion of the glass and keeping the bottom part hot.^[4]

See also

• Azerbaijani tea culture
• Piyāla
• Turkish tea
• Samovar
• Ayran
• Turkish coffee

References

1. Таир Амирасланов. Глоток чаю, но лишь в Армуду… (in Russian). журнал "IRS-Наследие". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
2. Традиции и обычаи в Азербайджане (in Russian). Retrieved 18 March 2011.
3. Удобства стаканов (in Russian). Retrieved 18 March 2011.
4. "Armudu stəkanda çay" (in Azerbaijani). Azerbaijan islam news. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2011.