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In Nigeria, and other African regions, palm wine is one of the best drinks you can ever find, the newly tapped palm wine is so sweet that you wouldn't know when you should stop, many are likely to have gotten drunk already before realizing it's time to stop drinking it, trust me when I say it takes effort to control your self when you take Palm wine for the first time. To date, I'm still surprised as to how something so natural can become so addictive. Palm wine is a natural product of palm trees, and it is also naturally fermented, making it acholic.
I drank palm wine for the first time as a 9-year-old kid, I remember being curious to really want to have a taste of it, and surprisingly my dad let me. Although he made sure to give me in the night, so I slept a few minutes after I drank it. That particular one wasn't too new, neither was it very old, but it was becoming more fermented than usual. As I grew older, I had to stop taking it because of its sweet and addictive nature which my circle of friends was already addicted to.
Although I don't go to my village, Leaving in a place like Warri, Delta state Nigeria is one of the few cities the villagers come to sell their drink. Palm wine is used in the eastern part of Nigeria most often during traditional marriages were the wife would take a sip and give it to her husband to seal their union together. I try as much as possible to stay away from the old palm wine which you can clearly tell from its fermented smell. Its milky nature can make you think it's not harmless until you drink a lot and find yourself in the gutters lol...
Another popular drink I know of (mostly in the south south part of Nigeria) is the local gin known as kia-kia although I haven't tasted it, but I know it's gotten from different trees with a very high acholic nature. In some parts of Warri, Delta state Nigeria, one of the ways they test a man is how much palm wine or kia-kia he can take without getting drunk. Kia-kia is mostly drunk by old men in rural areas. These local drinks have their health benefits alongside their acholic nature. Palm wine was once given to me as prescription being that I was always sick as a child.
There are also non acholic drinks like kunu, zobo, and "tiger-nut*... These are actually my favorite among all the traditional drinks in my community. Their health benefits are numerous, well known for preventing common diseases and boosting the immune system. Tiger nuts and Kunu are very good for the male reproductive system. I take it a lot, especially in days when I don't cook, I buy it with some pancakes or groundnut.😋
Thanks again for stopping by my blog today, until next time.