Tea in Azerbaijan is served freshly brewed, hot and strong. It typically has a bright-colour and is served in crystal or any other glasses or cups. Tea is served continuously when there are guests or when there is an interesting conversation. For Azerbaijanis tea with milk or with sugar  is uncommon (according to a common belief, drinking tea with lump sugar instead of sand sugar comes from the medieval period, when rulers who were afraid of being poisoned checked their tea by dunking a piece of sugar in a beverage ).Traditional tea is served with lemon, cube sugar, sweets and fruit desserts Sometimes thyme, mint or rose water is added, which is believed to be good for the stomach and heart.