Street Vendor Classic · Hot Honey-Spice Drink
Sbiten
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Centuries before tea took over Russian kitchens, Moscow's streets were warmed by sbitenshchiki — vendors who carried the drink on their backs in a samovar-like urn called a sbitennik.
Sbiten is a hot drink brewed from honey, water, and warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, sometimes with a splash of herbal infusion added. Vendors once poured it straight from insulated brass urns strapped across their chests, ladling cupfuls to passersby on cold Moscow streets.
Why it's made this way: Long before tea became affordable to ordinary Russians in the 19th century, sbiten was the everyday hot drink of Moscow, sold on nearly every corner by dedicated street vendors up through the early 1800s.
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