Europeans began to put sugar in tea, in the East, where this drink came from, salt was added to the infusion. In addition to grains of sodium chloride, Eastern peoples had other equally unusual ways to reveal all the benefits and taste of tea.
Tea Legends
Salted tea is a traditional drink in many Asian countries. According to legend, the Chinese Shen Nun, who was the Second Emperor and Divine Farmer, tested the effects of all unfamiliar plants on himself. Once Shen Nong was descending from the mountains and thirsty, a leaf wet after rain fell on him from a nearby bush. The Divine Farmer decided to try it too.
There is another version of the tea legend. Shen Nong watched the work of the peasants and boiled water. The leaves of a nearby tea bush fell into boiling water from the wind. The emperor drew attention to the rich color of the hot water resulting, and decided to drink the resulting broth. The taste of the drink did not disappoint the great and fearless ruler.
Different recipes for making salty tea
The ancient salted tea was prepared as follows: the leaves rolled tightly into flat cakes and lightly toasted. The resulting "pancakes" were placed in a ceramic pot and boiled with boiling water, salt, ginger, onions and spices were added.
There is another recipe, a more modern one: the tea was poured with one glass of boiling water and infused until it decreased in size by a third, the infusion was strained, diluted with hot milk and salted. Then this mixture was put on low heat for another 15 minutes. Hot tea was poured into bowls, sometimes walnuts or a piece of butter were placed in them to taste.
In Tibet, tea appeared a little later and was prepared in a completely different way. But the Tibetan recipe also included salt. Tibetan tea was very nutritious and was intended to quickly relieve fatigue and rejuvenate the nomads. The tea was prepared as follows: 50-75 g of pressed pu-erh tea was firmly brewed with a liter of water, 100-125 g of yak butter and salt were added. The tea was whipped until a homogeneous thick liquid was obtained.
Many steppe peoples engaged in cattle breeding still drink tea with salt: Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Turkmens. Their recipe is similar to the Tibetan one, it is based on green tea "bricks" (pressed). In addition to salt, camel, cow's or sheep's butter, milk or cream act as additional ingredients. Sometimes, instead of these ingredients, fine grains or flour fried with butter are added to tea. As a rule, little water is added, sometimes it is not poured at all, and salted tea is prepared entirely in milk.
In China, green tea with sea salt has been used as an antidote and medicine. This drink was believed to protect against cancer and treat nervous disorders. And for the Tibetan nomads, the nutritional properties of salted butter tea were important. This drink helped maintain strength and water-salt balance during long hikes in the mountains.
