Palm wine tapping in the Casamance, Senegal

From: https://www.stunningtravel.nl

Palm wine is a traditional alcoholic drink and is consumed by more than 10 million people in West Africa. Especially in southern Senegal the palm wine is widely available. The local people drink it as part of their ceremonies like weddings, child naming, family gatherings and even funerals. And then when there’s no party in town the people drink it, just because they fancy a drink. It can be drunk as a sweet juice fresh from the tree (my favorite). At that moment there is nearly no alcohol inside. Leave it for one to two hours and fermentation has started giving you a drink that is reasonably high in alcohol (up to 4%). The longer the palm wine is fermented the stronger it becomes, and after a day fermenting alcohol levels can get as high as 40%. By now the drink is starting to turn into (and tastes like) vinegar. The fresh palm wine, locally called ‘bounok’ is a natural an healthy drink and within three hours after tapping acquires a nice aroma, and is sweet to taste. It's a great source of Vitamin B. The wine is said to have some medical applications and has been identified to boost brain power. You should give it a try on your next visit to Senegal.

Read more: http://beautifulsenegal.com/palm-wine...