Mongols

Tea

Sūtáiqié (süütei tsai) on qīngzhuānchá from the Zhaoliqiao and Yangloudong works in Hubei, stamped with a chuān mark on the face; such bricks circulated as money in the Qing era and traveled north through Kyakhta. The signature is not in the recipe but in the method: the broken brick is boiled in a cast-iron cauldron, and the brew is repeatedly lifted with a ladle and poured back from a height — in cauldron tea the count reaches eighty-one lifts, until the decoction thickens and becomes even; only then goes milk to about a fifth of the volume and salt, and the guest is poured a wooden bowl.

Headwear

A Mongolian herder’s everyday winter sheepskin hat (malgai): a low round crown fitted snugly with a solid closed top, side flaps pressed against the crown and not dropping to the cheeks, a short back flap resting on the neck, a straight low edge above the brow, ties under the fold, a red knot at the nape seam. The highlight is a single dry tea leaf in dark chestnut, tucked into the seam of the sheepskin fold at the right temple; no slit and no growth through the crown.

Object

A pouring ladle tucked behind the sash; no bowl inside the bosom — the front of the deel is smooth.

Clothing

A quilted deel of everyday cut without festive trim, a cloth sash wound several times, plain leather boots with a blunt toe.

Palette

Dusty blue deel, brown sheepskin on the side flaps, warm honey-colored ladle wood, dark-chestnut brew; red only in the knot at the nape seam.