10NOV06 Yak Butter Tea.
I finally got my first taste of yak butter tea - a black tea made with salt & yak butter. It's a funky combo that the Tibetans love, but foreigners mostly hate. Butter tea is an indispensable part of Tibetan life. Since yak butter is the main ingredient, butter tea is a very warming drink and a good antidote to the cold, and very well suited to high altitudes. When you enter into a Tibetan house you will be gently constrained to drink the notorious Tibetan tea.

I thought it was fine, for the most part, although the biggest problem is that once you've taken a sip they come and refill your cup, so it's impossible to finish. According to the Tibetan custom, butter tea is drunk in separate sips, and after each sip the host refills the cup to the brim. Thus, the guest never completely drains his cup; rather, it is constantly topped up. One quickly learns that if the tea is not to their preference, the best thing to do is leave the cup untouched until the time comes to leave and then drain the bowl. In this way etiquette is observed and the host will not be offended.