Butter tea is a beverage enjoyed daily in Tibet. The simplest preparation method involves brewing black tea and adding a pad of butter on top.  The riddle above uses artful language to describe this simple method. Tea is described as a "lake of red water". The original Tibetan term has mythic religious associations, where it refers to a sea in which nagas and asuras fight. This lake is said to be encircled by a range of white mountains, which describes the rim of a ceramic cup. In a clever use of language, the term used to indicate a golden fog over the lake can also be used to describe an oily film or even liquid butter. This riddle transforms loved if mundane object into something mythical and beautiful.