I understand that the bark of the mauby tree (alias mabi, mavi, etc.) is used to flavor soda and occasionally rum, and that it is sometimes used in the production of a fermented drink, analogously to the ginger in a ginger beer.
It was recently suggested to me that the sap of the tree is sometimes used as the sugar source for that fermented drink, but to save my life I haven’t been able to find a source that backs that up. Can anyone here verify or refute that claim, or direct me to someone who could?
For context, I’m working on a book about spirits distilled from fermented tree sap. I’d like to at least mention any saps that are being fermented but not distilled, and if anyone is doing that with mauby it adds an entire taxonomic family to the discussion.
I’m not particularly versed in the details of how mauby is used (though I did do my best to get some to experiment with a while back). My first thought though was to check if there are even any other members of that plant family that are commonly used for their sap. I think it’s Colubrina elliptica, in Rhamnaceae, the buckthorn family, and from a cursory look mostly those aren’t known for usable sap. If you want to investigate further and can’t find any direct info on mauby sap itself, understanding the plant family might help further rule it out.
That’s a good thought – than you! I’ve done a bit of digging and have so far turned up no food or drink uses of Rhamnaceae sap. That’s not dispositive, but it does make me feel better about prioritizing other research questions ahead of this one.