Ladakh · 20 minutes · Vegetarian · Drink · For beginners
Gur Gur Cha
For 4 servings · US units
Ladakhi butter tea: strong, salty and churned to a froth
Gur Gur Cha is the Ladakhi butter tea, also known as Tibetan butter tea: black tea boiled strong, then churned with butter, salt and milk until it sits creamy in the bowl. Traditionally it's beaten in a wooden churn. It's an everyday strengthening drink of the Himalaya, meant to be sipped hot and unhurried — especially good on cold winter days.
Ingredients
- 2 tbspBlack tealoose leaves, boiled strong
- 3⅛ cupsWaterfor boiling the tea
- 1⅓ ozButtertraditionally yak butter
- 1 tspSaltgives the tea its salty character
- ⅔ cupMilkmakes the tea milder and creamier
- 1 pinchBaking sodadeepens colour and extraction of the tea (optional)
Method
- Bring the water to a boil in a pot and scatter in the loose black tea leaves.
- If you like, stir in a pinch of baking soda now — it deepens the colour and pulls more out of the leaves.
- Let the tea steep or simmer gently until it is dark and strong; a few minutes will do, and longer boiling makes it stronger still.
- Pour the tea through a fine sieve, keeping it hot.
- Put the hot tea into a churn, a blender or a well-sealing shaker together with the butter, salt and milk.
- Churn or blend vigorously until the butter is fully worked in and the liquid is frothy and even.
- Pour the butter tea straight into small bowls or cups and serve while the foam is still on top.
Tips and variations
Traditionally it's yak butter and a wooden churn, but a blender or shaker does the job just as well. You can let the tea boil for a good 15 minutes instead of only steeping briefly, and the milk can go in from the start and simmer along. Light cream in place of milk makes it rounder — or leave out the milk and salt altogether and churn nothing but tea, baking soda and butter. Serve it in small bowls and keep topping them up while it's hot.
Allergens
Contains: Milk (including lactose)
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
