Da You Cha (Oil Tea)

Tea leaves are pounded and stir-fried with lard, ginger and scallion in an iron pot, then boiled and strained; the broth is poured over bowls already holding glutinous rice balls, peanuts and puffed rice, yielding a faintly bitter, fragrant drink with a sweet finish.

Practiced in northern Guangxi's ethnic communities for over a thousand years, oil tea is the highest form of hospitality and a staple of daily family life, with a local saying that 'a bowl of oil tea is worth three years' of nourishment.

Hosts pour at least four successive bowls as full courtesy; guests who leave the bowl unfinished are considered impolite—drinking through all four leaves one refreshed and alert.

In the ethnic villages of Longsheng and Gongcheng near Guilin, oil tea preparation is an essential cultural experience for any visitor.