round the world in sixty days

Since we finished Kilimanjaro early, we had a free day for licking our wounds, taking extended showers, and celebrating. So we invited our guide, Mathayo, out on the town. We headed out to Mkulima (farmer in Swahili), a nyama choma joint. Nyama choma is the tradional BBQ of East Africa, with a typical menu offering whole goats, chickens, and mtura, or mutura (African sausages), thrown on the grill and slow roasted. All of it is served with maize based ugali, a regional staple. Our favorite was the mtura, though we were probably better off not knowing the ingedients at the time. It all was delicious. After eating, it was time to unwind and we moved on to the drinking – something Jesse purportedly knows a bit about. He suggested we try some mbege and after some convincing, Mathayo agreed. Mbege is a traditional alcohol to the mountain region of Tanzania where the main ingredient, bananas, are prevalent.  It is unclear if mbege is actually legal, as it is homemade and served only in unadvertised “clubs” – basically someone’s house. The ordering process is simple: They only serve mbege and the only decision you make is serving size. The containers are very similar to flower pots and come in small (0.75L), or large (1.5L). We ordered a small – they brought us a large. We paid the equivalent of 60 cents. The bar staff and clientele were an interesting mix of those too stoned to care about the two mzungu and those amused by our presence. All were friendly, though I think they were testing our resolve with the upgrade to the large bucket (1.5 liters). The consistency of Mbege is the most unusual part. In order to ferment the beverage, germinating millet (like porridge) is added. The beverage is not filtered so a layer of grainy sludge, floats on top. This is exactly why they give you a small strainer with your order. Mmmm.The liquid is good. It is fruity with a prominent smell and flavor of active fermention. The alcohol content is low, similar to a beer but it hit us pretty hard after the previous week of hiking. So we donated our remaining mbege to the greater good and said goodbye to our fellow barflys, went home, and napped. Cheers Tanzania!