Bevo più volentieri il tè tiepido quando ho mal di gola.

In Italian, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• bevo = I drink
• The -o ending tells you the subject is io

So Bevo più volentieri... is completely natural.
You could say Io bevo..., but that usually adds emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Bevo tè. = I drink tea.
• Io bevo tè, lui beve caffè. = I drink tea, he drinks coffee.

Volentieri is an adverb that often means willingly, gladly, or in many contexts preferably.
With più, it becomes more willingly or more naturally in English, prefer / rather.

So:

• bevo volentieri = I gladly drink / I like drinking
• bevo più volentieri = I drink more willingly / I prefer to drink

In this sentence, più volentieri expresses preference:

• Bevo più volentieri il tè tiepido...
  = I prefer to drink lukewarm tea...

It is not a direct word-for-word equivalent of English prefer, but it often works that way.

Italian often uses volentieri and più volentieri in places where English would use like to or prefer.

Compare:

• Preferisco il tè tiepido. = I prefer lukewarm tea.
• Bevo più volentieri il tè tiepido. = I more readily / more willingly drink lukewarm tea.

The second version sounds a bit more tied to actual behavior or habit: it focuses on what the speaker tends to drink rather than stating a general preference in a direct way.

So both are possible, but più volentieri is a very natural Italian way to express preference.

Italian uses articles more often than English does, including with food and drink.

So il tè is very natural here.

• Bevo il tè = I drink tea
• Mangio la pasta = I eat pasta

In English, we often leave out the article in general statements, but Italian frequently keeps it.

Also, tè has an accent to distinguish it from te, which means you in an object form.

• tè = tea
• te = you

In Italian, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• il tè tiepido = the lukewarm tea

This is the most neutral and normal order.

If you put the adjective before the noun, it often changes the tone or sounds more literary, subjective, or marked. For a temperature adjective like tiepido, the normal position is after the noun.

Other similar examples:

• acqua fredda = cold water
• caffè caldo = hot coffee

Tiepido usually means lukewarm or slightly warm, not properly hot.

So it is often weaker than English warm.

For example:

• acqua tiepida = lukewarm water
• tè tiepido = lukewarm tea

If something is really warm or hot, Italian might use:

• caldo = hot / warm
• bollente = boiling hot

In this sentence, tiepido makes sense because lukewarm tea is often considered soothing for a sore throat.

Because mal di gola is a fixed expression meaning sore throat.

Italian often uses avere with physical complaints:

• ho mal di testa = I have a headache
• ho mal di denti = I have toothache
• ho mal di gola = I have a sore throat

So ho is required because the expression is literally I have throat pain.

Sono malato means I am ill/sick, which is much broader and less specific.

Here mal is a shortened form of male used in several common expressions.

So:

• mal di testa
• mal di denti
• mal di gola

This shortened form is standard and very common. You should learn these as fixed expressions.

By itself:

• male often means badly or pain
• but in these health-related phrases, Italian usually uses mal di + body part

So ho mal di gola is the normal form.

Literally, di gola means of the throat.

So:

• mal di gola = literally pain of throat
• natural English: sore throat

This pattern is very common in Italian:

• mal di testa = headache
• mal di schiena = back pain
• mal di stomaco = stomach ache

So di links the pain to the body part affected.

The order is quite natural in Italian:

• Bevo = main verb
• più volentieri = adverb phrase modifying the verb
• il tè tiepido = direct object
• quando ho mal di gola = time/condition clause

A rough structure is:

I drink + more willingly + lukewarm tea + when I have a sore throat

Italian word order is flexible, but this version sounds smooth and neutral.

You could move parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Quando ho mal di gola, bevo più volentieri il tè tiepido.

That puts more focus on the condition when I have a sore throat.

It is grammatically a quando clause, so literally a when clause, but in meaning it can feel a bit like a condition or recurring situation.

It suggests:

• whenever I have a sore throat
• when I have a sore throat

So it is not just one single event. It can describe a habit or tendency.

Because bevo is in the present tense, the whole sentence sounds like a general personal habit:

• When I have a sore throat, I prefer to drink lukewarm tea.

Yes, you could, but it means something slightly different.

• Bevo più volentieri il tè tiepido...
  = I prefer to drink lukewarm tea...
• Mi piace bere il tè tiepido...
  = I like drinking lukewarm tea...

Mi piace expresses liking.
Più volentieri expresses preference more strongly.

So if you want the idea of I’d rather drink lukewarm tea, the original sentence is better.

Yes. Both bevo and ho are in the present tense:

• bevo = I drink
• ho = I have

In Italian, the present tense is often used for general habits, repeated situations, and personal preferences, just like in English.

So the sentence means something like:

• I prefer to drink lukewarm tea when I have a sore throat
• Whenever I have a sore throat, I tend to drink lukewarm tea

It is not necessarily talking about only this exact moment.