Toddy Tapping: tight-rope walking to make Asia’s most unusual alcohol
Every unusual drink comes with an unusual process to making it, and this particular one happens 60 - 100 feet off the ground!
The coconut palm has been harvested for generations to make Toddy or Ra, a local coconut liquor, which is made by fermenting the sap of the coconut flower up in the trees. Before it can be tapped, the flower must first be ‘beaten’ for three days, then cut allowing the sap to drain out. The toddy tapper – those engaged in the profession – has to climb the coconut tree to tie a container in order to collect the sap. This is done in the evening, the container is left overnight and the contents are collected the next morning. So, the next time you travel to the South and see a rope-riddled tree top, look up and you might be witness to a local tightrope walker on an artisan liquor mission!