While Westerners may find Tibetan butter tea too rich and tangy, for the Tibetans it is the indispensable daily drink. Tibet has a dry, cold climate with an average annual temperature of 1° C (34° F), and it is crucial to have some antidote to the cold.

The butter tea made of brick tea, yak butter and salt helps keep body warm, stills one's hunger, aids digestion, and increases stamina. The Tibetans are accustomed to down several bowlfuls of butter tea before work.

Brick tea is first boiled, strained and poured into wooden churn with a lump of butter, pinch of salt and some boiling water, and then vigorously churned up until it looks like thick soup. The resulting liquid is poured into a kettle, heated and then served in small wooden bowls.

They say, the warming effect and caloric boost are fantastic.