藏族人民视茶为神之物，从历代的“赞普”至寺之喇嘛，从土司到普通百姓，因其食物结构中，乳肉类占很大比重，而蔬菜、水果较少，故藏民以茶佐食，餐餐必不可少。 　　
藏族饮茶方式主要有酥油茶、奶茶、盐茶、清茶几种方式，调查结果表明：酥油茶是最受欢迎的饮用方式（平均达73.9%），其次是奶茶。 　　
酥油茶是一种以茶为主料，并加有多种食物经混合而成的液体饮料，所以，滋味多样，喝起来咸里透香，甘中有甜，它既可暖身御寒，又能补充营养。
藏族喝酥油茶是有一套规矩的，到藏民家去做客就应遵守这套规矩。这就是：在藏民家喝酥油茶一般是边喝边舔，而不能一口气喝完。主人总是随时会把客人碗里的酥油茶添满的。假如你不想喝，就别动它；假如喝了一半，再也喝不下了，当主人把碗里的茶添满，你就摆着，告辞时再一饮而尽，这样做才符合蒙族人民的习惯和礼貌，才会受到藏族人民的欢迎。

Tibetan Ethnic Minority: Buttered Tea
Tea is regarded as something belonging to the gods. For the Tibetan, from Zanpu (King) to Lama, from the rulers to ordinary citizens, they eat more cheese and meat than vegetable and fruit, so tea becomes an indispensable beverage to them in every meal.
Major kinds of tea drunk by the Tibetans include buttered tea, tea with milk, tea with salt, and green tea. According to a survey, 73.9 percent of the respondents voted the buttered tea as the most popular kind followed by the tea with milk.
The buttered tea takes tea as its main material mixed with some other food, so one will find various tastes when drinking it. The tea not only can get one's body warmed up, but also can nourish the drinker.
There is a set of rules to follow when one visits a Tibetan family and is invited to drink the buttered tea. One cannot drink up the whole bowl of tea in one breath, but lick the mushy tea while drink it. The hospitable host often keeps the guests' bowl filled up; so don't touch the bowl if you don't want to drink the tea. If you have had enough and cannot drink anymore, you may leave the bowl there for the moment and drink up the tea when you're leaving. Only one follows these rules in line with the customs and manners of the Tibetans can she/he receive a warm welcome from them.