Yak Butter Tea

Sūyóu chá is a savoury, emulsified drink made by churning brewed pu'er or brick tea with yak butter and salt in a long wooden churn until smooth. The result tastes nothing like tea in the conventional sense — it is more like a thin, slightly smoky broth with a fatty, salt-forward character. For Tibetans living at altitude, where cooking anything above a simmer is difficult, sūyóu chá provides calories, salt and warmth efficiently. Drinking it is a gesture of hospitality — guests are expected to drink at least three cups (refilled by the host as soon as the cup empties). The yak butter used is often deeply flavoured, slightly aged in animal-skin bags, giving the tea a pungent, complex richness. Visitors often find the taste challenging at first. Modern urban versions may use cow butter and add a little sugar.