Steps in Making Pohnpei’s Local Concoction – Sakau
Besides being famous all over the world for the wonders of its beautiful beaches, Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia is also renowned for their native drink called Sakau.
Preparation of "Sakau" Pohnpei's Traditional Drink
The Pohnpei sakau plays an important role in the Pohnpei traditions. There are no feasts, meetings, or any other important occasions that can occur without the presence of this local drink. Said to give its drinker a sudden feeling of numbness, the sakau which is a drink extracted from the roots of a pepper shrub contains 14 natural painkillers that tends to sedate the drinker.
Termed as “The Pacific Narcotic”, there is an important procedure to follow when preparing sakau:
1. Decide which plant to harvest and proceed with the digging but with uttermost care to make sure that the roots remain intact.
This is usually done by the men in the village as they all take part in the digging process.
2. Trim the foliage away from the plant and remove the roots.
3. Clean the pounding stone and tear strips of bark from a hibiscus tree as this will be used as the strainer.
4. After the dampened sakau roots are pounded in to a dry and fibrous pulp, its residues are then strained using the hibiscus bark and you now have a drink ready for consumption.
Besides its preparation, there is also a traditional way of drinking sakau. It is observed when consuming the drink – the first and fourth cups of sakau must always be allotted for the eldest guest. And afterwards, everyone is free to drink however they want to.
The preparation and consumption of sakau just continues to show how beautifully attached the Pohnpeians are to their traditional values.
While there are dozens of sakau bars & sakau markets placed throughout the islands there is one which stands out amongst travelers and locals a like. ROASDI (also know as Rusty’s Market) serves up the most potent sakau brew in the South Pacific. Anyone looking to experience Sakau in its fullness needs to include roasdi market on their travel itinerary.
