CONSIDER the refreshing flavour of sorrel drink or the energetic sharpness of ginger beer. The Guyanese holiday season would be truly incomplete without our holiday beverages. Just the smell or taste of these drinks can invoke emotions and memories of Christmas and New Year’s in us. It is with good reason then that the tradition of crafting these beverages continues.

On a trip to the Essequibo Coast, the Pepperpot Magazine was able to catch up with Orella Layne. Orella, known as “Aunty Tyra” in the community, and her husband operate a stall at Charity on the Coast. In addition to that endeavour, she also makes sorrel drink, ginger beer and mauby to sell every year during the holiday season. She kindly took the time to explain her processes to this publication.

Sorrel drink is naturally made from the sorrel fruit. Orella explained that if she acquires the fresh fruit the first step in her process is to remove the seeds. The deseeded fruits are then washed and placed in a pot with water where they are carried to a boil. She adds cloves to the mixture. Other spices, including ginger, may also added. It is a matter of preference. Once the mixture has boiled and turned red, the flame is removed. She noted that the mixture is then left to cool for about 20 minutes. Once it has cooled, the drink is sugared, strained and bottled.

For the preparation of ginger beer, fresh ginger is first washed and peeled. Layne explained that there a few options for the next stage in the process. The ginger may either be chipped up and placed in a blender or grated. After that, water is added in proportion to the amount of ginger that was prepared. Spices and cloves are added to the ginger water. Another important ingredient is a small piece of orange peel. She was sure to note that all these additions are made to the same ginger water mixture.

A small bucket is used to hold the ginger water mixture. “You just add a little rice to it,” Layne said. She clarified that the rice brings up the ginger beer to the surface and allows it to ripen faster.

The process of making mauby is more complex than the other two. “Well mauby, he is a very technical man,” Layne noted at the outset. Everything for mauby preparation must be clean. A completely cleaned bucket needs to be used. The mauby bark needs to be boiled. “The bark, not the concentrate,” she was sure to add. The bark is boiled with spice, a few cloves and a piece of orange peel. The mixture is boiled until the flavour is drawn out from the bark. The strength of the mauby depends on how much flavour is able to be drawn out of the bark.

The mixture is then strained off a little, according to taste. The aim is to reach a balance of flavour, one that prevents the mauby from being bitter. The mauby is then sugared and left to set for two days. It is placed in a fridge or cooler. Ice may also be used for preservation if neither of these options is available.

Orella prepares the three beverages – sorrel drink, ginger beer and mauby – to sell during the holiday season. She prepares ginger beer for Christmas and mauby for Old Years’. Sorrel drink is made during Christmas when she is able to source it as she does not have her own sorrel plant. She also noted that she mixes the ginger beer with other fruit drinks. “Ginger is very important to the body,” she said.

Preparation methods for holiday recipes are usually passed on. Orella though is completely self-taught in the preparation of sorrel drink, ginger beer and mauby. She has been able to perfect her methods through trial and error. And she willingly shares her knowledge of the art of preparation with those who ask.

She noted that she has already been asked a few times and she has shared her method. The most common bit of feedback she receives from those she has helped is that they could not replicate the taste she is able to achieve. This she said can be attributed to their not allowing the beverages set and ripen to fully unlock their flavours. Ginger beer and mauby especially must be allowed a few days.

It would be remiss to not mention that Aunty Tyra also prepares other local food to sell at her and her husband’s stall as well. Among her preparations are tamarind balls, channa, pholourie, and egg balls, to name a few. It is at Christmastime that the holiday beverages make their appearance.

The holiday season may be drawing to a close but the memories of the scents and tastes of the season will remain with us until next Christmas comes along. Aunty Tyra and others who prepare these holiday beverages give us hope that these traditions will continue to endure. And we need only turn to them for advice to continue the tradition in our own way – they are willing and able to help.