| People | Kazakhs · |
| Region | Xinjiang: Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Altay, Tacheng |
| Role | drink their own way |
Tea
奶茶 nǎichá on 茯砖茶 fúzhuānchá: the brick is broken apart, boiled for five minutes, milk is added at roughly one fifth of the tea’s volume, salt is put in, and it is brought to a boil again; in winter white pepper is added for warmth. Drunk three times a day, the saying 宁可三日无粮，不可一日无茶 “better three days without bread than a day without tea” circulates across Xinjiang. The 茯砖 brick hosts 金花 jīnhuā — a golden fungal bloom, which is what the brick’s quality is judged by. Ili and Altay, piedmont pastures.
Sprout on the crown
A broken-off corner of a compressed tea brick: a short, dense growth with visible layered compression and fine golden speckles of 金花 on the cut face, a sharp fracture edge, crumbs trickling off the lower face.
Headwear
吐马克 tǔmǎkè, a winter hat, colloquially “three-lobed”: a four-sided, pointed crown covered in smooth cloth, a fur roll along the bottom, two ear flaps hanging down the cheeks and a long back panel protecting the neck. The slot for the sprout is in the seam of the front facet. No feathers on the crown.
Outline at 6 mm. Dome with lobes. Fur roll plus three separate hanging lobes — two ears and a back panel — with gaps between them: differs from Ugolek by its ragged silhouette instead of a solid mass, and from the Tibetans by having hanging lobes with the same fur roll.
Clothing
Quilted chapan, leather belt with brass studs, boots with folded-down tops.
Palette
Dark cloth of the crown, pale fur of the roll, chestnut tea brick with gold speckles, ochre belt.