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Experiment Note: Butter Tea

I’ve been curious about Tibetan Butter Tea for awhile; having slowly schooled my Southern self away for drinking the heavily sweetened tea I grew up with, it seemed like it might be fun to try something in the opposite direction. A raging sore throat today made the concept of something hot and full of fats seem particularly appealing so with directions pulled from the internet and no real concern for authenticity and played with the idea. (based on instructions found here: http://www.yowangdu.com/tibet/tibetan-food-recipes/po-chu.html)

I decided to use the second steeping of leaves from the Ancient Trees as the use of a brick tea seemed appropriate, and as Lipton was the suggested tea, something rather flat might be just the ticket. I boiled the tea for about four and a half minutes, strained out the leaves, added milk and butter and about three pinches of salt, and brought it back to a boil, whisking the mixture briskly in place of churning.

The tea ended up with a beautiful rose color and fun layer of foam on top. The flavor was actually pleasant, and I will say that it was very soothing for the sore throat, but no amount of telling myself to think of it as more of a broth than a tea could convince my Southern brain to accept this a sipping beverage…I am, however, excited by the prospect of using this as a base for a soup. I just have to figure out what to put in it.

Tangy and refreshing by itself. Excellent with some honey and whiskey as a hot toddy.

Consider rinsing the leaves more throughly next time to cut down on the mustiness…second steeping didn’t have as much, while retaining much of the richness.

The first steeping had a nice dry finish, without being overly astringent. The tea was slightly sweet, and a bit of honey brought out some citrus notes. Smokiness comes out in the second steeping, although the finish loses its qualities. Ideally, I’d like more body and perhaps a bit more in terms of complexity from a tea.

Very brisk with a lingering finish. Pleasant notes of grape.

Smooth and delicate with a hint of grape sweetness.

Smelled absolutely delicious in the bag, but what a disappointment to drink. Had an extremely harsh, unpleasant quality, maybe too many cloves? Palatable only with the addition of milk and sugar, but even then not particularly good.