''Moke'' is a traditional

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

from Flores Island,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, which is made from fruits of the ''

Borassus flabellifer ''Borassus flabellifer'', commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala or tal palm, toddy palm, lontar palm, wine palm, or ice apple, is a fan palm native to South Asia (especially in Bangladesh, East India, and South India) and Southeast As ...

'' and ''

Arenga pinnata ''Arenga pinnata'' (syn. ''Arenga saccharifera'') is an economically important feather palm native to tropical Asia, from eastern India east to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Phil ...

'' palm trees. This beverage has many names, including ''sopi'' and ''dewe'', but it is most widely known as moke on Flores Island. Moke is considered to be a symbol of friendship and hospitality for the local people.

Moke in Flores Island

Moke is made from fermenting palmyra palm and

sugar palm Sugar palm is a common name for several species of palms used to produce sugar. :Species used include: *''Arenga pinnata'' (syn. ''A. saccharifera'') *''Borassus flabellifer'' *'' Caryota'' :*'' Caryota urens'' *''Cocos nucifera'' See also * Tod ...

fruits, the technique of which is traditionally taught from generation to generation. Distillation is often done directly in people's yards, using customary cases made of clay for the fermentation process. One bottle of moke takes approximately 5 hours to collect. This is due to the need to wait, drop by drop, for the fruits' liquid to accumulate slowly through the use of a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

tool. The best quality moke is considered by Florenese locals as ''bakar menyala'', or 'hot and flaming'. This variety, unlike regular moke which has an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

effect, is popularly regarded as good for the drinker's health.

Varieties of Moke

White Moke

All varieties of moke are made by juicing ''B. flabellifer'' and ''A. pinnata'' palm fruits. The traditional method involves a hollow bamboo stick, which is cut, washed, and then allowed to dry. Next, the prepared fruit is placed inside the bamboo, which is then hung up vertically and struck several times. After this step, the bottom tip of the bamboo stem is cut off, letting the palm fruits' released liquid drip down into a container below. This sweet-tasting extract is called white moke, due to the whitish color of the fresh juice. It may then be further processed either by fermentation in jars, or by cooking it down into a reddish

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

Black Moke

Black moke is an

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

made by fermenting white moke in earthenware

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

vessels called ''kuwu tua''. Black moke is often served in traditional parties and ceremonies.

References

{{Indonesian cuisine Herbal and fungal stimulants Indonesian alcoholic drinks