Tibetan Butter Tea
A homemade take on the famous drink! Tibetan butter tea is practically a symbol of that country — the locals drink a lot of it, and with real enjoyment. And you can absolutely make it at home!
Cooking method
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Step 1:
How do you make Tibetan tea? You'll only need a few ingredients. Use filtered or bottled water, and be sure to bring it to a boil.
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Step 2:
In a separate teapot, brew the black tea the usual way: just pour boiling water over it and let it steep for five minutes.
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Step 3:
You can divide the tea straight into individual portions rather than into one big container as I did — it may be more convenient. Strain the tea through a fine mesh so no leaves end up in the drink. I poured mine into a jug; you can pour it into mugs — you'll need four (or scale the recipe down to 1–3 servings).
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Step 4:
Top it off with the right amount of boiling water.
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Step 5:
Add the butter and salt to the hot tea.
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Step 6:
Whisk the tea for 5 minutes. A small battery-powered frother makes this very easy.
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Step 7:
Boiling, brewing, and whisking, the whole thing took me exactly 15 minutes. You'll end up with a frothy, opaque drink of a lovely color.
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Step 8:
You can make it the same way with green or any other tea, and season the drink to taste with sweetener, cinnamon, lemon juice, and so on — whatever you like. Happy sipping, everyone!
- The original recipe uses yak butter, and that's certainly what made this drink famous around the world. Here we use regular butter instead; I'll be honest, it's not quite the same, but the overall texture and a similar flavor come through.
- The first time I tried Tibetan butter tea was at a friend's place in Shanghai, and I disliked it so much that I never intended to try it again. But during a long trip to Tibet I came to appreciate it, and now I even make it with the ingredients available here — though it's a little different.
- It's best to use neutral-tasting filtered or bottled water. Tap water can give the drink an off, distinctive aftertaste.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Butter 82% - 734 kcal/100g
- Amateur unsalted butter - 709 kcal/100g
- Unsalted peasant butter - 661 kcal/100g
- Peasant salted butter - 652 kcal/100g
- Melted butter - 869 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Black Tea - 0 kcal/100g
