Coconut wine, Cansayong, Philippines
Tuba is a Filipino fermented – and lightly alcoholic – wine obtained from the sap of different species of palm trees such as nipa and coconut palm.
In Cansayong, a village in Mindanao in the southern Philippines, I witnessed the harvesting of tuba from coconut tress, and tasted it straight from the tree. Tuba has existed in the Philippines since pre-colonial times.
The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper (see photos). Typically the sap is collected from the cut flower of the palm tree. A container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap.
The white liquid that initially collects tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic before it is fermented. Although I tasted tuba straight from the tree, it did taste slightly alcoholic.
Palm sap begins fermenting immediately after collection, due to natural yeasts in the air (often spurred by residual yeast left in the collecting container). Within two hours, fermentation yields an aromatic wine of up to 4% alcohol content, mildly intoxicating and sweet. The wine may be allowed to ferment longer, up to a day, to yield a stronger, more sour and acidic taste, which some people prefer. Longer fermentation produces vinegar instead of stronger wine.
In the Philippines, there are two notable traditional derivations of tubâ with higher alcohol contents. The first are distilled liquor, generally known as lambanog (coconut) and laksoy (nipa palm). They are milky white to clear in colour. The second is the bahalina which is typically deep brown-orange in colour due to the use of bark extracts from the mangrove Ceriops tagal.
Other types of palm wines indigenous to the islands include subtypes of tubâ like tuhak or tubâ sa hidikup which is made from kaong palm sap, and tunggang which is made from fishtail palm sap.
Wine walking may appear a flippant pastime. But it offers a fascinating window onto cultures the world over.