Lahpet

Lahpet, also spelled laphet, laphat, lephet, leppet, or letpet in English (, ləphɛʔ), is Burmese for fermented or pickled tea. Myanmar is one of the few countries where tea is consumed both as a drink and as an eaten delicacy, in the form of pickled tea, which is unique to this region. Laphet is regarded as a national delicacy that plays a significant role in Burmese society, and remains a traditional Burmese gesture of hospitality and is served to guests visiting a home. Its place in the cuisine of Myanmar is reflected by the following popular expression: "Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; of all the meat, pork's the best; and of all the leaves, lahpet's the best". In the West, laphet is most commonly encountered in "tea leaf salad" (). Burmese tea is processed in three major forms: Lahpet chauk (), or dried tea leaves, also called a-gyan gyauk (), is used to make green tea, which is called yei-nway gyan (, plain/crude hot water) or lahpet-yei gyan (, plain/crude tea). Green tea is the national drink in the predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, a country with no national drink other than palm wine. Acho gyauk (, sweet and dry), or black tea, is used to make sweet tea (, lahpetyei gyo) with milk and sugar. Lahpet so (, wet tea) specifically refers to a pickled tea, despite lahpet being generally synonymous with pickled tea. Burmese tea is distinguished into seven quality grades: 'Golden bracelet' () 'Extraordinary weft' () 'Weft' () 'Top grade' () 'Medium top grade' () 'Medium grade' () 'Low grade' () File:Lahpet Tasters.JPG|Tasters at a lahpet stall in Mandalay File:Lahpet for sale.jpg|Lahpet dressed with garlic and chilli File:Fried garnish.JPG|Fried garnish with lahpet File:Laphet thoke.JPG| Lahpet dish File:Lahpet in bulk.JPG|Lahpet for sale at a market in Mandalay File:Pickled Tea & Ginger Salad.JPG|[[Lahpet thoke]] and [[gyin thoke]] (ginger salad) The practice of eating tea in modern-day Myanmar dates back to prehistoric antiquity, reflecting a legacy of indigenous tribes who pickled and fermented tea leaves inside bamboo tubes, bamboo baskets, plantain leaves and pots.