tuba (red coconut wine)

Medya galon (half gallon) of maroon-colored tuba sa lubi with tungog of Inopacan, Leyte.

tuba - /tu-bâ/ (Cebuano, Boholano, Leyteño, Waray, Surigaonon, and Davaoeño wine) [n.] coconut red wine. 

Looking at the food map, it is no doubt that our pulang tuba (red coconut wine) is the most popular native wine in the Philippines.  

A coconut wine produced in Visayas and Mindanao that is maroon, red, or orange in color is fermented with tungog (mangrove tanbark). 

This Visayan variation of coconut wine is known for its dark maroon due to the high amount of tanbark used. Tuba in Mindanao is mostly reddish or light orange in color as it is produced and fermented with less amount of tanbark. Red coconut wine is popular in the Visayas and Mindanao. Thanks to the manananggot or manangguete (tapper of coconut sap or tuba gatherer) for laboriously collecting the coconut palm sap and processing them into wine. They used tungog as a fermentation agent and flavoring. The tanbark is bitter-tasting and rich in tannin that would tint the tuba maroon, red, or orange. The tanbark would help ferment the tuba into wine. If plenty is used, tungog would prevent the tuba from getting sour. After a few days, the tuba would become a bahal (a few days old wine) and then a bahalina (aged wine) in a few weeks to months and even years without souring.

In Luzon, such as in Quezon and Laguna provinces, their tuba is uncolored but turbid or creamy-white because their mangangarit (tuba tapper) does not put tungog (a.k.a. barok, mangrove tanbark) in the coconut sap. Their tuba would turn sour fast at the end of the day right after the palm sap has been collected from the coco tree. In 3 days, the sap would start to become sukang tuba, and in a few more days or weeks, it became a full-pledge sukang tuba and can be used for cooking paksiw or as a marinade or dip for a kinilaw and kilawin or to douse a kilawing talbos or any vegetable salad. This kind of tuba is not suitable for making an aged tuba known as bahal or bahalina in the Visayas. 

All kinds of tuba when freshly harvested are very sweet and can even be made into sugar when distilled until it dries up.  However, pure fresh tuba will quickly turn sour. A freshly gathered pure and unblended tuba must be taken immediately as a refreshing sweet drink within the first 12 hours of the day it is harvested. By the end of the day, the tuba will start to sour and becomes tart in the next few days. 

In Luzon, when pure white tuba turned very sour or vinegar, the folks could still make wine with it. The sour palm sap is distilled into steady steam and the alcohol produced through the condensation process becomes a more potent wine called lambanog.

Meanwhile, in the Visayas and Mindanao, the same kind of tuba (coconut palm sap) is made red or maroon in color by adding a generous amount of pounded or thinly sliced tungog right then and there the moment tuba is collected from the coconut tree. The tungog will cause the tuba to ferment without getting sour but taste bitter. It produces a bahal or bahalina that can be aged in weeks, months, and even in years.  But if not enough tungog is used, tuba will eventually turn kisom (sourish) in a few days and likely become a sukang bahal (coconut red wine vinegar). 

The manangguete (tuba gatherer) lops off the bud of coconut flowers (inflorescence) using a razor-sharp sanggot (scythe). Refreshing the wound will assure continuous oozing of sap (juicy nectar) from the bud of inflorescence.

 

Every morning, the manangguete would climb the coco tree to prep the coconut's bud, clean and install the bamboo tube as receptacle for the palm sap. By afternoon, the manangguete would climb again the same tree to gather the collected sap. Everyday thereafter, the manangguete would routinely climb twice a day to tend the same tree, and repeat the routine with the other coconut trees.

The making of tuba starts in the early morning when the tuba gatherer, known as the “manangguete” in Visayas and Mindanao or the "mangangarit" of southern Luzon, is climbing up a coconut tree. While on top of the coconut tree, he would sit on the base of the palm’s frond and looks for a newly sprouting bud of inflorescence (coconut flower) that is still completely encased in green takong (pod). The tip of the bud of the inflorescence is lopped off by slicing using a razor-sharp sanggot (scythe). This will cause the sap to ooze out from the bud. The whole stalk of the wounded bud is then pushed down, forcing the bud to bend and position its tip to point downward making it easy to collect the juices as they drip.

A container called pasok (a small and short bamboo tube with a diameter enough to fit the size of the bud, also known as sugong in western Leyte) is left hanging at the tip of the bud to collect the dripping sap. It is done by inserting the wounded tip of the bud into the mouth of pasok, and the pasok is sealed by wrapping around tightly its opening with sheaths of ginit (coconut sheath) and tied securely with lapnis (strips) taken from the coconut frond. Pasok has to be sealed to prevent the rainwater from contaminating the collected sap and to keep some insects and bugs away from crawling into the bamboo tube. With the availability of plastic cellophane and synthetic straw string, ginit and lapnis are now replaced and no longer used as wrappers and binders.

Pasok is left hanging on the tip of the bud for the whole day to collect the slowly dripping sap. The manangguete would climb down and proceed to climb up another coconut tree to do the same routine.

A bud of coconut flowers (inflorescence) still encased in green takong (coconut pod). The sap is so sweet that it would attract the ants, bees, flies, and bugs. 

By afternoon, the manangguete would climb back the coconut tree to gather the collected sap in the pasok and pour it into the hungot or kawit (big bamboo pole container) brought along by the manangguete which he hung behind his shoulder. A wooden hook is attached to the bamboo pole that curved fittingly on the shoulder of the manangguete, making the bamboo tube easier to carry up and down the tree. Once the pasok is emptied, its inside is cleaned by scraping using a pitlagong (bamboo plunger, also called patok or patek in Ilonggo). All the sediments left behind and the assortment of insects that were able to get inside are also scraped off and thrown out by tapping the pitlagong against the frond of the coconut palm.

Then wound on the tip of the bud is sliced off again to freshen the wound. This will keep the coconut juice to continue oozing and dripping out. This is necessary as the old wound eventually retards the oozing sap from the bud. The pasok is placed back on the tip of the bud and sealed again before the mananguete would climb down with the freshly gathered tuba. 

At the ground, the collected tuba is stored in glass or plastic gallons; and if plenty, it is stored in damahuwana or damahan (demijohn) which is now commonly replaced by a 5-gallon plastic container shaped like a jerry can.

The freshly gathered tuba turned dark maroon in color because of tungog (magrove tanbark). Here, tuba is transferred from the sugong (bamboo container) into the damahan (what used to be a 5-gallon glass container, now a plastic jerry can) in Sitio Tabuk, Brgy. Tao-taon, Inopacan, Leyte.

Without tungog, the freshly gathered tuba is creamy white and very sweet. Here, I am swigging a glass of fresh pure tuba (we called it bag-ong dawat) chilled with cracked ice.

Emptied PET bottle of cola drinks is now used by the locals as receptacle to collect the dripping sap. The traditional receptacle for tuba is made of bamboo tube. I found this sanggotan (coconut tree cultivated to produce tuba) at the Reclamation Area (formerly Pasil) along the delta dike of Inopacan river.

Ice-chilled bag-ong dawat (freshly gathered tuba) prepared by my mother in one of my vacations in Inopacan, Leyte.

Every day thereafter, the manangguete routinely tends to the same coconut bud until about half of its length is totally sliced off and the bud’s takong (pod) would start to burst open and the butay (tentacle-like stalks) inside are no longer tender. 

When freshly gathered, the tuba is creamy-white in color, tastes sweet, and is effervescent (continuously producing tiny bubbles creating a cream-colored froth). This freshly gathered tuba, with no tungog in it, is said to be good for nursing mothers.

Tuba without tungog will immediately turns sour at the end of the day and on the next day it starts to become sukang tuba (coconut sap vinegar). If the freshly gathered tuba is blended with tungog, it becomes bitter-sweet and turns maroon (if plenty of tungog is added) or reddish-orange in color (if only a little tungog is added). If tungog is added at the earliest possible time, as when the juice is still in the pitlagong or sugong, the coconut sap is prevented immediately from becoming sour, and it is ideal for making bahalina that can be aged for years. 

A tuba that is freshly fermented with tungog is called bag-ong dawat on its first day. It is when the effervescence of the toddy goes wild.

The typical sanggotan (coconut tree cultivated to produce tuba). This one was along the Highway in Brgy. Maljo, Inopacan, Leyte

After about 12 hours of fermentation, the effervescence stops and the coconut wine becomes bahal (also called lina in some other places in Mindanao that might confuse you with the other lina as the one-day-old tuba), meaning the wine is a full pledge tuba. For the first 2 weeks, the tuba is filtered by siphoning to decant it out from its storage, leaving behind the lawog (sediments) that settles at the bottom of the container and are discarded away.

After a month of fermentation and filtering, the tuba is called bahalina (aged coconut red wine) which is darker in color and tastes and smells like fruity red wine. The longer it is aged the better it becomes. 

A dark bahalina since 2011. I still have this now in 2022 and hopingly for the years to come. The older the wine gets, the better it becomes.

Tuba must be stored under shade, better if not totally exposed to any form of light, that is why some tuba maker bury their jars of the tuba in the ground or hide them inside the house and covered the jars with black cloth to avoid souring bacteria to subsist that is responsible for the souring of tuba. The container must also be filled up to its brim, devoid of any air inside, and tightly sealed the opening to prevent the airborne souring bacteria from contaminating the coconut wine. A contaminated tuba will taste sour and becomes vinegar called sukang tuba (coconut vinegar).

The uncolored tuba is commonly produced in some provinces in Luzon that include Quezon, Laguna, and Bulacan where tungog is usually not readily available to tuba gatherers. Their tuba is literally sweetish that in Luzon, these recent years, a freshly gathered tuba is processed into expensive organic coconut sugar. 

A tagay of tuba in Libungan, North Cotabato with a bowl of soupy pulutan (food served in drinking session).

A tuba we called  bag-ong dawat (freshly gathered, or a day-old tuba) at home in Inopacan, a coastal town in the western part Leyte. The banig (sleeping mat) is a local product in town woven by local weavers using lilas (strips of dried romblon leaves) from the island of Apid (of Cuatro Islas).

Tuba from Leyte, like the one in the photo (above, from Inopacan, Leyte) is deep maroon in color and would taste far more bitter than those from other places in Visayas and Mindanao because more tungog is blended in it. A similar type of tuba is also produced in the Northern part of Leyte that includes the municipalities of Abuyog, Burauen, Barugo and Palo where a dark-colored variety of tungog is used. A similar kind of tuba is also manufactured in Argao, Cebu where groups of tuba manufacturers are established for years. They acquired the skill of extracting tuba in a classic or old-school way that inspired the municipal government of Argao to celebrate its Pitlagong Festival.

The picture below is of a Visayan tuba called bag-ong dawat or a one-day-old tuba. A continuous creamy froth appears as the fermentation process keeps on working. The picture shows such fermentation bubbles going wild.

The frothing fermentation bubbles of bag-ong dawat goes wild, creating an illusion as if boiling endlessly though it's not heated whatsoever. It's a natural occurrence when tuba commences fermentation. This is the reaction when coconut sap is mixed with the tungog (mangrove tanbark). The coconut wine of Leyte and nearby provinces (like in Bohol and Cebu) turned deep maroon in color because it is heavily blended with tungog.

In Leyte, there are those who are well versed in tagging the quality of tuba by telling its smell, and transparency in color, and by knocking the glass container (usually a gallon or demijohn) filled with a tuba. The sounding of "tonk! tonk! tonk" and "tink! tink! tink!" of bahal (old tuba) and bahalina (aged tuba) is enough to gauge how old the wine is. Telling the age is important just like the European and western red wines - the older, the better.

(above and below) A public market vendor in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur selling a bol (small glass jars) and gallons of light yellow-orange colored tuba on her stall. This type of tuba would not last long as it would turn sour and become sukang (vinegar) after few days because it has not much tungog in it or the type of tungog used is not the strong variety. Suka like that is referred to as the sukang bahal (a few days old red or light orange coconut wine that turned vinegar).

These garapon or bol (small bottle jars) filled with tuba are for sale in the public market of Talisay City in Negros Occidental. This type of tuba would not last long as it would turn sour and become sukang (vinegar) after few days because it has not much tungog in it or the type of tungog used is not the strong variety. Suka like that is referred to as the sukang bahal (a few days old red red or light orange coconut wine that turned vinegar)

Visayan tuba are classified according to their age:

 

• lina - a freshly gathered uncolored coconut sap (when no tungog/baruk is added yet). It is milky-white, sweet, effervescent, non-alcoholic, and non-acidic. Lina is said to be good for nursing mothers. Lina will not last longer than 12 hours as it would immediately turn sour to become sukang tuba nga puti (white coconut vinegar). In Visayas, lina is used as a leavening agent and sweetener in making bibingka (rice cake). It would help raise the rice dough and enhance its taste and flavor. A day after, lina will become kisom (a bit sour) and in a few days, it starts to become suka (vinegar) if it is not treated with plenty of tungog right after harvesting the sap. When already kisom, lina is no longer suitable for use in cooking rice cake.  

• bag-ong dawat - a day-old or freshly gathered coconut wine either with or without tungog in it. A freshly gathered sap is very sweet and when mixed with tungog it turns maroon or reddish-orange. Bag-ong dawat is when the effervescence of the toddy goes wild, as in the toddy will go frothy and wild up to the brim.
• bahal - few days old tuba with tungog. The coconut toddy becomes bahal when the effervescence stops after about a day from when the coconut sap was harvested. The wine is maroon in color and bitter in taste because of the tungog (mangrove tanbark).
• bahalina - an old-aged coconut red wine. the coconut toddy blended with tungog is fermented over a very long period of time ranging from several weeks to months and even years. It has a darker color than bahal and the aroma smells fruity. When aged for years, bahalina can compete in taste and aroma with any western red wine. 

In Visayas and Mindanao, there are at least three common ways of serving tuba: one is sinagolan, another is may chaser, and the manly puro.

sinagolan - tuba is blended with lots of cola (Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, Pop Cola, etc.) making the wine very sweet and fruity to your palate and throat. Usually served when tuba is kisom (sourish) so as to mask the taste. This is also served when drinkers are not brave enough to savor the strong bitter taste of good tuba.

may chaser (a.k.a. tsineseran) - literally said, tuba served with a chaser of cola or any sweet drink, such as juice, chocolate drink, sweetened coffee, etc.. the chaser is immediately served after swigging tuba. You dare to savor first the true taste of tuba then iron out your squirming face with a chaser.

puro - from the Spanish word puro (pure). One has to swig a tagay of pure tuba without sipping any chaser afterward. This will surely give you the truest meaning of saying "Ahhh!" to a drink.

 

"Tagay" is that serving of tuba poured in the glass.

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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