Tibetan people drink yak butter tea in copious quantities throughout the day. More like a savory broth than a sweet tea, it is deliciously smooth and creamy when it is made using fresh butter. If the butter has become sour, however—as often happens in the more remote areas where refrigeration has not yet reached—it can taste very rancid. Such damage this has done to the reputation of what is a very fine drink!
In Tibet, butter tea is made using black tea (often pu-erh), crumbled from a large brick (the tea was originally compressed in this way to withstand the rigors of the journey from China). For this version, we substitute brick tea with English breakfast tea bags and also add a little milk to match the creaminess of pure yak butter. A blender makes much faster work of the tea than a traditional wooden churn.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 2
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour 1⅔ cups (400 ml) of water into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
Step 2
When the water is boiling, add the tea bag(s) and boil for a good 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove the tea bag(s) from the pan and discard.
Step 3
Take off the heat and add the salt, butter, and milk, then use a hand-held blender to blend the tea until frothy. Gently reheat if needed, but do not bring back to a boil.
Recipe notes
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