Barbadian · drink

Mauby

Mauby reads sweetness 7.0, citrus 5.3 and floral 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Barbadian drink, about 5 hr 35 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.0 · Citrus 5.3 · Floral 4.5 · Bitterness 4.4 · Warm Spice 4.1 · Nutty 1.7 · Fruity 1.7 · Earthy 1.2 · Sourness 0.7 · Herbaceous 0.7

What's in it (12)

Time & effort: about 5 hr 35 min (35 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 27.9 kcal, 0 g protein, 0 g fat, 7.1 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. Mauby is the bitter spiced drink of Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, made from the bark of Colubrina elliptica. The bitterness is not a flaw to be sugared away — it is the whole character of the drink, and Bajans argue about how much sugar is too much. Sold in bundles of bark at Caribbean groceries.
  2. Bring the bark, the 1.5 litres of water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, mace and orange peel to a boil and cook 25 minutes at a steady bubble. The liquid will go dark reddish brown and the kitchen will smell medicinal and sweet at once.
  3. Take it off the heat and leave it to steep for an hour. Longer steeping means more bitterness, so this is the dial to turn if you want it milder or fiercer.
  4. Strain the concentrate through a fine sieve, about 5 minutes, and discard the bark.
  5. Stir in the sugar, nutmeg and vanilla while the concentrate is still warm so the sugar dissolves completely, about 3 minutes. The concentrate keeps two weeks in the fridge.
  6. Dilute with the cold water, roughly one part concentrate to four parts water, and chill at least 4 hours.
  7. Just before serving, pour it back and forth between two jugs from a height for about 2 minutes until a thick head of foam stands on the surface. The foam is expected; a flat glass of mauby looks wrong to anyone who grew up on it.
  8. Serve over ice, very cold. If your first sip makes you wince slightly and the second does not, you have the sugar right.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.