Tip 1: How do they drink tea in Tibet and Mongolia?

Food

Tip 1: How do they drink tea in Tibet and Mongolia?

Despite the fact that Tibet and Mongolia are the closestneighbors of China, the tea tradition in these countries has formed quite specific. The way tea drinkers from Mongolia and Tibet drink tea can surprise even an experienced connoisseur of Chinese tea ceremony.

The Tibetan tradition isextreme conditions in which local residents live: they use all the opportunities to saturate the body with useful substances in a hard mountainous climate. That is why tea in Tibet not only drink, but also eat. Dry leaves are added to food, soups are cooked from them, ground tea leaf is added to a national dish made of barley flour, butter and salt. The Tibetans do not prepare the drink themselves in the way that we are used to seeing.

The process of preparing Tibetan tea is prettytime-consuming. The so-called "brick" tea is mixed with water in a proportion of 50-70 g of dry product per 1 liter of water. Then, add ghee, prepared from yak's milk, to the water, and give it a little salt. Usually, the amount of oil reaches 200-250 g per liter, which can cause a real shock for an unaccustomed European.

A mixture of tea, water, oil and salt is boiled, and then,not waiting for cooling, whipped in a special device. After whipping, a rather specific drink with a peculiar taste and a thick consistency is obtained. Tibetan tea is fatty and high-calorie, but for the harsh climatic conditions of these edges such a drink is an indispensable source of energy and strength for the local people. This method of cooking has existed for more than a thousand years. In China, tea, unlike Tibet, is practically not brewed. Vake can only be pu er, all other varieties are simply poured with water.

In Mongolia, this drink is also prepared according to the ancientA prescription that was passed on from generation to generation. Exactly the same tea tradition is present in some regions of Kyrgyzstan and Kalmykia. In part, the cooking technique is similar to that of Tibetan: oil, milk, flour and salt, as well as some spices (nutmeg, bay leaf, black pepper) are added to tea and water. To prepare a drink in Mongolian, a special kind of "brick" green tea is used. Its price is much lower, since it is not considered elite. In Mongolia, it is drunk by all people, regardless of social status.

Tip 2: What kind of people drink salty tea

Putting sugar in the tea began the Europeans, in the Eastthe same, whence this drink also has come, in an infusion salt was added. In addition to grains of sodium chloride, the eastern peoples had other equally unusual ways to discover the full benefit and taste of tea.

Legends of tea

Salty tea is a traditional drink inmany Asian countries. According to legend, the Chinese Shen Nun, who was the Second Emperor and Divine Farmer, tested the effects of all unfamiliar plants. One day Shen Nun descended from the mountains and wanted to drink, a wet leaf after the rain fell from the nearest bush. The divine farmer decided to try it. There is another version of the tea legend. Shen Nun watched the work of the peasants and boiled water. The leaves of the tea bush standing next to the wind fell into boiling water. The Emperor drew attention to the rich color of hot water, which resulted as a result, and decided to drink the resulting broth. The taste of the drink did not disappoint the great and fearless ruler.

Different recipes for making salted tea

Ancient salted tea was prepared as follows: The leaves slid into flat cakes and fried lightly. The resulting "pancakes" were put in a ceramic pot and boiled with boiling water, salt, ginger, onions and spices were added. There is another recipe, more modern: tea was poured with one glass of boiling water and insisted until it decreased by a third, the tea was filtered, diluted with hot milk and salt. Then this mixture was put on a slow fire for another 15 minutes. Hot tea was poured over the bowls, sometimes they were put in walnuts or a piece of butter to taste. In Tibet, tea appeared a little later and was prepared completely differently. But the Tibetan recipe also included salt. Tibetan tea was very nutritious and was intended to quickly relieve fatigue and restore the strength of the nomads. The tea was prepared like this: 50-75 g of pressed Puer was brewed firmly with a liter of water, 100-125 g of creamy melted butter yak and salt were added. The tea was beaten until a homogeneous thick liquid was obtained. Tea and salt are now being drunk with many steppe peoples engaged in cattle breeding: Kalmucks, Kirghiz, Mongols and Turkmens. Their cooking recipe is similar to Tibetan, in its basis is green tea "bricks" (pressed). In addition to salt, camel, cow or sheep butter, milk or cream serve as additional ingredients. Sometimes in the tea instead of these ingredients, fried with oil, small grits or flour. As a rule, water is added little, sometimes it is not poured at all, and the salty tea is prepared completely on milk. In China, green tea with sea salt was used as an antidote and medicine. It was believed that this drink protects against cancer and treats nervous disorders. And for the Tibetan nomads, the nutritional properties of salted tea with butter were important. This drink helped to maintain strength and water-salt balance during long journeys through the mountains.