When visiting Myanmar, one of the first things that you'll notice in every town, and almost every block in town has a tea shop with little plastic stools and small tables spilling out onto the sidewalks and into the streets. Most people living in Myanmar are crammed in small apartments with other members of their family, the tea shop offers a place to gather outside of home and chat or just hang out and have a smoke. Once you find your corner tea shop find a table and just sit down. Every table will have a teapot with small cups. In the pot you will find green/Chinese tea called : yea nwe jahn” or plain warm water. It’s just lightly brewed green tea and is used to substitute for drinking water. People often pour small amounts into the cups provided, swish it around to wash, then toss it onto the street. You may also want to wipe it down with a piece of tissue as well, which you will find in a plastic container, rolled up like toilet tissue. The green tea is free and will keep coming if that is what you like. At this point you might have noticed a seasoned professional pouring the goods in the back. This is where the real “lapae yea” or black tea is mixed with some sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Black tea in Myanmar is dark and rich, with a slight smokiness. 
The different ways to order tea are "bone mahn" a regular cup of tea, "baw hseent" which is slightly stronger than a regular cup,"jah hseent" a stronger than the one above, but not too strong and "pancho" a stronger and sweeter, tea but is usually just pretty strong. You will also find delicious samosas, curries and pasties made from semolina in most tea shops. My favorite was the fried pastry with sugar on top.
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