Butter tea, ara and what to drink in Bhutan

Every visit in Bhutan begins with a drink, and it is usually put into your hands before you have sat down. Knowing what it is, and what is expected of you, makes those first minutes easier. This is a guide to what to drink in Bhutan; the food is covered in our guide to Bhutanese food.

Suja: butter tea

Suja is tea leaves boiled for a long time, then churned with butter and salt until the liquid is smooth and pale. It is the drink of the high Himalaya, and it is nothing like tea as most visitors know it. Think of a thin, salty broth and you will be closer.

It makes sense where it comes from. At 3,000 m on a cold morning, fat and salt and heat are what the body wants. Farmers drink it before going out, and monks drink it through long hours of prayer. It is served with puffed rice or flattened maize, which you can drop into the cup.

• Your cup will be refilled each time you drink from it. To stop, leave it full.
• It is fine to take a sip or two and leave the rest.
• Drink it hot. The butter rises as it cools.

Ngaja: sweet milk tea

If butter tea is not for you, ask for ngaja. It is black tea boiled with milk and sugar, in the Indian manner, and is offered everywhere, from hotels to roadside stalls. Black tea, green tea and instant coffee are easy to find. Good fresh coffee is found mainly in Thimphu and Paro.

Ara: the home-made spirit

Ara is made in farmhouse kitchens from whatever grain the valley grows: rice, maize, wheat, millet or barley. The grain is fermented and then, most often, distilled in a simple still over the fire. The result is clear or slightly cloudy, tastes a little like sake, and is stronger than it seems.

• It is often served warm.
• For a guest it may be heated with butter and a beaten egg, which turns it into something close to a meal.
• Strength varies from one household to the next, and nobody measures it. Sip.
• It is offered as hospitality, not sold in bars, so you are most likely to meet it at a farmhouse or a village festival.

Alongside ara there are milder fermented drinks that are not distilled: bangchang, made by pouring hot water over fermented grain, and singchang, the liquid drawn off the ferment itself. Both are low in alcohol, slightly sour and very much a taste of the countryside.

Beer, whisky and wine

Bhutan brews its own beer. The common ones are lagers, among them a strong one that deserves respect at altitude. The beer visitors remember is the cloudy wheat beer brewed in Bumthang, which you will find in most hotels and is best drunk in the valley it comes from. Bhutanese whisky and a sweet peach wine are also made in the country and sold everywhere. Imported wine is available in the better hotels at a price.

Drinks other than tea, coffee and water with meals are not included in the price of a tour, and are paid for as you go.

Alcohol and altitude

Paro and Thimphu stand above 2,200 m, and alcohol goes further there than at home. For the first night or two, drink little or nothing, and a good deal of water. On a trek, leave alcohol until you are back down. Our note on altitude in Bhutan explains why.

Water

Do not drink water from the tap. Bottled water is provided in the vehicle, and hotels supply it or have filtered water for refilling a bottle. Bring a bottle of your own to cut down on plastic. On a trek, the crew boils water for you every evening and morning.

Saying yes, and saying no

Refusing a drink outright can seem cold. The Bhutanese way is to refuse once, gently, with “meshu, meshu” and a hand over your mouth, and then to accept a little. If you do not drink alcohol, say so plainly and ask for tea. Nobody will press you, and many Bhutanese do not drink either.

You may see your host dip a finger and flick a few drops into the air before drinking. It is an offering. Wait for it, and then drink.

On our trips bottled water is kept in the vehicle for you. Other drinks, alcohol among them, are paid for as you go.