MODE OF PREPARATION FOR USE. 199 



form it is transferred to a tea-pot for immediate 

 use.* 



It will be observed that the mixture here de- 

 scribed contains no flour ; and Moorcroft decidedly 

 says that the Tibetans do not use milk. The 

 Mongols, however, do ; and one may imagine a 

 mixture of milk instead of water with which to 

 dilute the strong decoction of tea would be an im- 

 provement, where the refreshment sought is not a 

 beverage, but a broth or meal. This, however, 

 may depend on taste, and other circumstances, as 

 in the use of chocolate, &c. 



Mr. Manning described to me the mode of pre- 

 paring tea in Tibet, as follows: — A small quan- 

 tity of flour is put into an iron vessel over a slow 

 fire, and slightly parched ; to which is added a 

 small portion of butter. These two ingredients 

 are then stirred and formed into a paste ; to 

 which is added at intervals a portion of the 

 strong decoction of tea, the whole being constantly 

 stirred and well mixed, and blended together. It 

 is then diluted with milk or water, and churned 

 as already described. I also understood that it 

 is poured from one vessel into another backwards 

 and forwards several times. It obviously thus 

 /orms not merely a refreshing beverage, but a 

 somewhat nutritious meal. 



When Mr. Turner, on his visit to the Teshoo 



* Moorcroft's Travels in the Himalayan Mountains, vol. i. 

 p. 329. 



o 4 



