侗族人喜喝一种类似菜肴的油茶，认为喝油茶可以充饥健身、祛邪去湿、开胃生津，还能预防感冒。对长期居住在山区的民族而言，油茶实在是一种健身饮料。 　　
做油茶，当地称为打油茶。打油茶一般经过四道程序。 　
首先是选茶。通常有两种茶可先用，一是经专门烘炒的末茶；二是刚从茶树上采下的幼嫩新梢，这可根据各人口味而定。 　　
其次是配料。打油茶用料通常有花生米、玉米花、黄豆、芝麻、糯粑、笋干等。
第三是煮茶。如果打的油茶供作庆典或宴请用的，那么，还得进行第四道程序，即备茶。备茶就是将事先准备好的食料，先行炒熟，取出放入茶碗中备用。然后将油炒经煮而成的茶，捞出茶渣，趁热倒入备有食料的碗中供客人吃茶。
接着是奉茶。一般当主妇快要把油茶打好时，主人就会招待客人围桌入坐。由于喝油茶时，碗内加有许多食物，因此，还得用筷子相助，所以，说是喝油茶，其实是吃油茶。吃油茶时，客人为了表示对主人热情好客的回敬，赞美油茶的鲜美可口，称道主人手艺不凡，总是边喝、边啜、边嚼，在口中发出“啧啧”声响，表示称赞。 　　
由于油茶加有许多配料，操作较为复杂，所以有的家庭，每当贵宾进门时，还得另请村里做油茶高手制作。
最有趣的是“吃油茶”一词，还是侗族未婚青年向姑娘求婚的代名词。倘有媒人进得姑娘家门，说是“某某家让我来你家向姑娘讨碗油茶吃”。一旦女方父母同意，男女青年婚事就算定了。所以，“吃油茶”一词，其意并非是单纯的喝茶之意。

Dong Ethnic Minority: Oil Tea
As one favorable tea of Dong ethnic minority, oil tea is like a kind of dish which can allay one's hunger, expel the wind and humid air, stimulate the appetite and prevent one from catching cold. For a people living in mountain areas all years round, the oil tea is really a kind of beverage that helps to improve one's health.
The procedure of making the oil tea has four steps.
First, choose tea. There are two kinds of tea which can be used to make the oil tea, one is specially-baked tea dust, and the other is tender leaves and buds just picked from tea trees. Which one to choose depends on different drinkers' taste.
Second, prepare other materials, including pignut, popcorn, soybean, sesame, polished glutinous rice, and dried bamboo shoot
Third, make tea.
If the tea is made for a cerebration or a banquet, then the fourth step is required, that is to prepare the tea. One needs to fry the prepared materials and put them into bowls, and then filtrate tealeaves before pouring the brewed tea into those bowls when the tea is still hot.
Because there are many materials to prepare when making the oil tea and the brewing procedure is complicated, so many people invite oil-tea experts to help them during important occasions.