Before the first ray of sunshine sprinkling over the golden summit of Potala Palace, the sincere pilgrims have already finished their Barkor Kora and gotten into ancient sweet tea house for a warm drink to start their day of life. Tibetan sweet tea is to locals what coffee is to westerners. And the production process is not complicated: first, you need to boil the black tea with water, then stew them with milk powder and finally add sugar to enhance the flavor. What’s interesting is that even if it’s cooked with the same ingredients, the taste of sweet tea would vary greatly from house to house. Bu do you really know where to try this classic drink in your Tibet tour? Amid the large number of caffs in Lhasa, I’ll recommend top nine sweet tea houses for you to stop by.

Tibet tea house, a place to explore local life

1. Lhasa Langsai Antique City

On an idle afternoon, you can take your time to Langsai Antique City. Under the brilliant blue sky, you cannot find a trace of white clouds but catch a glimpse of Jokhang Monastery shinning in the sun. Besides, it’s an excellent spot to appreciate the magnificent Potala Palace and lofty mountains in the distance. Just imagine the scene that lazily leaning on the chair, you are chatting with your friends over a pot of fragrant sweet tea . What a cozy Lhasa tour it is!

Two pilgrims are waiting for their sweet tea in Lhasa Langsai Antique City.

2. Guangming Gangqiongtian Tea House

Guangming Sweet Teahouse brings all walks of life together, making it the ideal stop to explore Tibetan culture. Most gossips will spread out here. If you understand some Tibetan language, I bet, you could learn tons of interesting things through the grapevine just within one day. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know any Tibetan words. Just paying five jiao for a cup of sweet tea, you could spend the whole afternoon here. It’s an awesome way to escape from the nervous life in big cities. And you can kill your time like most Tibetans do. The existence of sweet tea house in Lhasa is to teach people how to enjoy their lives.

Killing time at Guangming Gangqiongtian Tea House

3. Cang Gu Si Tian ChaGuan

Of course, you should not miss out the unique Canggu Nunnery Sweet Teahouse while visiting Tibet. The sweet teahouse in Canggu Nunnery is not large, but clean and tidy. Stepping into the temple, you’ll see a great open-air teahouse with sweet smell penetrating in the atmosphere. The major customers are Lhasa people and devout pilgrims. As time goes by, a large number of tourists are also attracted to come here to take a sip of sweet tea and experience the daily life of local people. By the way, don’t forget to wander around Canggu Nunnery to appreciate the beauty of nature.

Cang Gu Si Tian ChaGuan

4. Xianzu Island Wuming Teahouse

Located at the Xianzu Island ecological district, Wuming Teahouse has mainly done the residential business for so many years. It is not a traditional Tibetan-style teahouse but offers you a warm feeling like home. The highlight here is the beef hidden in Tibetan noodles. Unlike other sweet tea houses, the cook would serve you with freshly-made beef, juicy, soup, etc, making it stand out from the rest.

Tibetan noodles at Xianzu Island Wuming Teahouse

5. Laoming Health Liangfen Branch

Sitting next to Lhasa Hotel, this is a well-known teahouse among the locals. Although it is famous for selling bean jelly, it has done a better job in Tibetan noodles, sweet tea, butter tea, yogurt, and relatively rare beef pie. So it’s a great place for those who are seeking for special Tibetan snacks. Decorated with pure Tibetan style, the jelly shop is always crowded with locals and travelers at home and abroad. Some tables and chairs are even placed outside the store. Of course, you will be served by enthusiastic Tibetan attendants and some of them are able to speak fluent Chinese and elementary English. So take it easy!

Tibetan bean jelly at Laoming Health Liangfen Branch

6. Revolution Tea House

Revolution Tea House is famed for its delicious Tibetan noodles. But finding this place is not easy. Because it didn’t hang a signboard outside, most tourists would miss it en route. Tibetan noodles here is really fantastic but sweet tea is just so-so. With modern tables and chairs installed inside, the whole teahouse looks like a fast food restaurant.

Tibetan snacks at Revolution Tea House

7. Balangxue Tea House

Balangxue Tea House is a traditional Tibetan-style store located in the middle of Linkor East Road. It is named after the earth god Balangxue. The decoration is very simple but its noodles and sweet tea are still worth your coming. Besides, you can also pay a visit to the mosque nearby. You must be amazed by the number of Tibetan tea houses hidden in Lhasa back alleys.

Tibetan foods at Balangxue Tea House

8. Baile Tea House

Standing on the opposite of Balangxue Teahouse, Baile Teahouse operated by the local family is one of the most ancient tea houses in Tibet. Since the nineteen eighties, it has been a popular entertainment place for folks to relax themselves. It was once closed down for a period of time. While reopening to the public, it became much more spacious and bright. Interestingly, you’ll find that every people working here is the boss of this tea house.

Baile Tea House

9. Chengguan Xuexiaofeishe Tea House

Between Potala Palace and white towers stands a row of two-story buildings. Here you can find a couple of handicraft stores, travel agencies, photo processing shops as well as Xue Xiaofeishe Teahouse. Compared with Guangming Teahouse, it’s much smaller but decorated in the similar style. Touching the traces of mottled walls, you can infer that this tea house must has years of history. Behind the teahouse is an open-air drinking area. At the foot of Marpori, the breeze blows the willows and what you need to do is enjoy happy time over a cup of sweet tea.

Chengguan Xuexiaofeishe Tea House

In fact, the sweet tea house is Tibet in miniature. Roaming around Lhasa city, you’ll find that the streets are packed with various kinds of sweet tea signboards. It’s common to encounter at least three sweet tea houses within one hundred meters. Join in Tibet small group tour and our experienced tour guide will help you find the favorite one!