Palm wine

Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of Asia, Africa the Caribbean and South America.

Palm wine production by small holders and individual farmers may promote conservation as palm trees become a source of regular household income that may economically be worth more than the value of timber sold.

Palm wine is known as emu, nkwu, oguro in Nigeria; nsamba in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; nsafufuo in Ghana;kallu in South India; Htan Yay (ထန်းရည်) in Myanmar; matango in Cameroon; tuak in North Sumatra, Indonesia; mnazi in the Mijikenda language of Kenya; goribon (Rungus) in Sabah, Borneo; and tubâ in the Philippines, Borneo and Mexico. In the Philippines, tubâ refers both to the freshly harvested, sweetish cloudy-white sap and the one with the red lauan-tree tan bark colorant. In Leyte, the red tubâ is aged with the tan bark for up to six months to two years, until it gets dark red and tapping its glass container gives a sound that does not suddenly stop. This type of tubâ is called bahal (for tubâ aged this way for up to six months) and bahalina (for tubâ aged thus for up to a year or more). Toddy is also consumed in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.