Yak Butter Tea (酥油茶 Su You Cha) — Tibetan Salt-Butter Tea
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Origin
Not yet written for this entry.
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Description
Su you cha (酥油茶, yak butter tea) is the traditional beverage of Tibet — black pu-erh tea (or another strong tea) brewed very strong, then churned vigorously in a long cylindrical churn (dogmo, 道木) with a large knob of yak butter (su you, 酥油) and salt until the mixture is completely emulsified, producing a thick, rich, slightly salty, fatty beverage. It is drunk throughout the day in Tibetan culture — at breakfast with tsampa, as hospitality for guests, and as sustenance for long journeys. It is an acquired taste for most non-Tibetans but is physiologically appropriate for high-altitude life — providing calories, fat, salt (for electrolyte replacement), and caffeine.
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The Thread
—Mongolian suutei tsai (salty milk tea) is a related steppe tradition — tea mixed with salt and milk (rather than butter) for daily sustenance
—Bulletproof coffee is a modern Western adoption of the same fat-in-hot-beverage-for-sustained-energy principle
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Flavour Context
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