Carribean Mavi (or Mauby)

[jmfromohio]

You can always back sweetened with lactose sugar, or you could kill the yeast (with those chemicals people use for that) and then add more fermentable sugars.

Thanks so much, do they sell lactose sugar in the supermarkets? I'm going to check online to see if they sell it on amazon.

 

[Amy1022]

Hi there. My parents were from Puerto Rico (I am first generation born here) and I am very familiar with the drink Mavi! I remember my mother brewing it and letting it ferment by our window sills in NYC. I loved the taste then, and it just so happens that since my brother loved the drink so much in PR he was coined with the name "El Mavi", I decided to try and make it as a surprise for his BBQ invite. I had a bit of trouble finding the bark, but I did at two places, both West Indian. Before that I tried looking for it in Spanish speaking grocery stores but where I am there is more of a South American influence, so I guess if I went to another city where the population is more Carribbean (and PR) I might find be able to find it there. But I did at these West-Indian stores, Trinidadian to be more specific. There they call it mauby. In one store it came with an anisette star, a whole cinammon stick, anise, etc. but I don't remember my mom making it with that. She might have used a cinnamon stick but my sister says no. We also don't make it with ginger, nor oregano (no!) or marjoram. My mother never used yeast. All I know is that she used what was called "el pied" or the base of another previously made mavi for her own drink. I made it with mavi bark, 1 ounce, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 1/2 cups dark brown and 2 cups white sugar (I thought it was enough) and 12 cups of water plus 1 cup of my previously made which was slightly bitter. It turned out better the 3rd time I made it--just like my mom's. The secret is not to allow the mavi bark to boil (in 1 1/2 cups water) too long--about 5 minutes. Otherwise the bitterness will settle in no matter how much sugar you add. Anyway, hope you were able to find the mavi bark.

 

[gaspar]

1 ounce of mavi tree bark
1/2 ounce of fresh ginger, sliced thin
1 stick whole cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of water
12 ½ cups of water
2 ½ cups of granulated sugar
2 ½ cups of dark brown sugar
2 cups of previously made mavi ***

Directions:
Place 1 and 1/2 cups of water in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the Mavi bark, ginger, whole cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, remove from heat and strain into a clean bowl. Discard the solids. Allow liquid to cool.

In a large bowl.. mix 12 1/2cups of water, granulated sugar, brown sugar and mix well, until the sugars are dissolved. Add the mavi liquid and the previosly prepared mavi and mix well. The mixture will begin to foam.

Pour the mavi into the gallon bottle and cap loosely, with cloth or the cap with a hole cut into it. Do not plug it too tightly. The fermentation will create pressure.

Place the bottle in direct sunlight for 5 to 8 days. If the sun isn’t out that much.. let it ferment for another 2 or 3 days.

NOTE: When previously prepared mavi is not available.. others have added a bit of active dry wine yeast after the maví has been prepared. I have never made this with the yeast, so if you do.. follow the directions that come with the wine yeast.

Yes! This is THE recipe for Mavi Champan. I've been drinking this stuff since I was a baby :} 5 days and up is an excellent fermenting time as far as my taste buds are concern. I let it ferment for 5 days only. More days can translate into a gradually less sweet and more beer like brew and begins to part with the typical mavi taste that Puerto Ricans are familiar with; but I wouldn't knock it (I may experiment with a 6 or 7 day brew!).

Thanks for the recipe. God bless.

P.s Oh... if the "pie" is not available, I've produced a great "champan" starter with a teaspoon of BRY-97 American dry Ale yeast, and then using That "pie" for subsequent worts. The later the generation of the "pie" that you use, the better does the mavi taste.

Enjoy...buen provecho!

 

[Oberon67]

Ping for later reference...

 

[Ibbygirl]

Hello gaspar. Thank you for your post. I bought the yeast you recommended so I can make mabi without a pie, but I didn't know if I should still brew it in the sun? The yeast package says the temperature range is up to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. I live in South Florida though so it's in the 80's outside everyday. Sorry for the newb question, I've never brewed beer before and only found your post through a google search looking for a recipe for mabi. Thanks for your time.

Yes! This is THE recipe for Mavi Champan. I've been drinking this stuff since I was a baby :} 5 days and up is an excellent fermenting time as far as my taste buds are concern. I let it ferment for 5 days only. More days can translate into a gradually less sweet and more beer like brew and begins to part with the typical mavi taste that Puerto Ricans are familiar with; but I wouldn't knock it (I may experiment with a 6 or 7 day brew!).

Thanks for the recipe. God bless.

P.s Oh... if the "pie" is not available, I've produced a great "champan" starter with a teaspoon of BRY-97 American dry Ale yeast, and then using That "pie" for subsequent worts. The later the generation of the "pie" that you use, the better does the mavi taste.

Enjoy...buen provecho!

 

[Ibbygirl]

I hope they will chime in too. I realize this is an old thread so maybe gaspar won't see it? I really want to start the mabi. My head tells me that I should heed the temperature range that is on the yeast package and brew it on the kitchen counter inside the house where it is cooler, but since I've never brewed anything before I don't know if it is essential to be in the sun. Thanks to all and any who reply. Buen provecho!

 

[Amy1022]

The bark for the Mavi tree is readily available in Florida. If you try any outdoor market in Miami, or even in a Spanish Grocery store (Bodega), or the outdoor markets of Hialeah (Florida), you will find it. Also, it is sold in New York.
Mavi is indeed a fermented (non-alcoholic) drink and is delicious ! I learned to make it from my Aunt. She would start with a base of the drink itself (referred to as the 'pie') Pronounced not 'pie', but rather, pee-yé. You must have the Mavi drink itself, as a base, to make it. After she cooked the Mavi bark and sugar, and added the Mavi base, she would let it cool, and funnel into bottles. Then, she would put them out in the Sun, to ferment. I would look out the window, and when I saw the foam had stopped coming out of the bottle, I knew it was ready ! Everytone should try Mavi, at least once in their lifetime. Elena

My mom would make this drink as well while we were growing up in NYC. She also used a "pied" as you mentioned ( I think that's the spelling, same as "foot" but meaning base in this case). I do remember watching the mavi ferment in milk jugs on the window sills, but was more interested in those tiny moving bubbles caused by the fermentation process!
Here in NJ I began making this drink to kind of carry on the tradition. I bought the bark at a Trinidadian store. The bark is bitter, so you cant let it boil very long. I had no "pied". After about 3 tries, I got to make the drink taste like my mom's. I really love the drink.

 

[gaspar]

Hi Ibbygirl

I live in NYC and I start making my mabi when the temperature outside starts getting warmer, around late May. YOu're in South Florida so Lucky You since you can make mabi all-year round. I have No 'pie' now, so I'll start my first brew with a heaping teaspoon or so of the BRY-97 dry Ale yeast (or a LALVIN EC-1118 champaign type yeast) which I let set in a half a cup of water FIRST until the yeast is aroused (perhaps a few hours). This liquid is my first 'pie', let's say, which I then add to my prepared mort in the recipe above.

I let my gallon ferment while sitting on the window sill. You know that in Puerto Rico, the people let it out in the sun, so you shouldn't worry about doing the same.

After about 5 days, it turns into a batch of some of the best mabi that I've ever tasted... and I've tasted plenty of great mabi. Everyone of my family here in the states love it and ask for more.

Enjoy...and buen provecho.

 

[Amy1022]

Found this blog about mavi:

http://boricuaencanarias.blogspot.com/2012/01/el-rico-mavi-mabi-mauby.html

 

[Ibbygirl]

Gaspar muchisimas gracias por su respuesta! I'm so excited to make this. We love mabi in our house too! My husband is Domincan (I'm Spanish/Cuban) and he keeps asking me to figure out how to make it. I just needed some guidance to get it right. Thanks so much for your help. I'm excited to get started on it. I hope it turns out well.

Hi Ibbygirl

I live in NYC and I start making my mabi when the temperature outside starts getting warmer, around late May. YOu're in South Florida so Lucky You since you can make mabi all-year round. I have No 'pie' now, so I'll start my first brew with a heaping teaspoon or so of the BRY-97 dry Ale yeast (or a LALVIN EC-1118 champaign type yeast) which I let set in a half a cup of water FIRST until the yeast is aroused (perhaps a few hours). This liquid is my first 'pie', let's say, which I then add to my prepared mort in the recipe above.

I let my gallon ferment while sitting on the window sill. You know that in Puerto Rico, the people let it out in the sun, so you shouldn't worry about doing the same.

After about 5 days, it turns into a batch of some of the best mabi that I've ever tasted... and I've tasted plenty of great mabi. Everyone of my family here in the states love it and ask for more.

Enjoy...and buen provecho.

 

[Isabelita]

Making myself a 1 gal batch of this right now. I am mainly going off of your recipe alhiem, but I subbed a few items.

First, I decided 20g of bark since the first recipe calls for 1 oz (28 g), but yours only calls for a few pieces. Second, I used 1/2 tsp dried Mediterranean oregano instead of marjoram, and 1/4 tsp of tarragon instead of star anise. I backed off on these two because I know oregano is much more pungent than marjoram, and for the star anise, I really dislike the licorice flavor, so I backed that off quite a bit.

I also used 260g of each of the brown and cane sugars to be more precise than the volumetric measurements. The liquid reads 16.4 Plato, which comes to 1.067 specific gravity. I'll add a teaspoon or two of US-05 yeast when it cools down enough, and see what happens.

Wow. It must have tasted awful.. I never make my mavi like that! As a matter of fact one does not even need to add anything just the mavi bark which one can buy on EBay. I do use one stick of cinnamon and a little ginger but I have done it without it and it comes out tasting great. That second recipe is not from Puerto Rico.. The first one is the one I do. Mavi needs full hot sun days. I place it out on my porch for 3 to 4 days in which it ferments. I make a hole on the bottle caps and as it ferments it foams and the foam is the bitterness of the bark. The finished product is sweet as honey.

 

[MajorPainNDiaz]

Hi! I'm new here, but I have the answer that you seek to your query. LOL! It is sold in a little African supermarket back home near Philly. But I had the same question that you did; So, I did a little research, and only had to look on the package for the answer. Turns out that I graduated H.S. in the same area where this store is getting it from. Its distributed by Angel Brand Food Co.; visit: www.angelbrand.com, you'll be able to order all the Mauby you want. hope it turns out good. I am going to try to brew it as well, let me know how it turns out.

 

[Fran Roman]

OMG! I can't believe all these complicated recipes. I had to stop reading. Here is my mom's recipe. An ingredient missing from previous is the hops. Flor de Cerveza. I know different regions make it different, but, there is no need for so many ingredients. I found the Mauby Bark on the web and Beer Hops too. Huge bag. Since I only need a pinch this will last me forever. I'm researching weather it needs to be in the sun for the warmth or if it can be made indoors kept at a constant 70 degrees or above. It's winter here in CO and I need to find the right warmer first.
I'm giving you all the scientific names so that you can properly google it and find it anywhere.

Mabí - (mom's recipe)

6 C Water
1 handful mabi bark (Colubrina elliptica)
1 pinch Flor de Cerveza (beer Hops-Humulus lupulus)

---Bring to a boil---

Simmer for 15 minutes

add:
1 gal cold water
2 C Piés (previously fermented mabí)
4 C Brown Sugar
4 C White Sugar

NOTE - DO NOT COVER WITH TIGHT LIDS! The fermentation will create a pressure cooker!
Use a cloth lid to cover. Either put in clean gallon jugs or glass bottles.

Place the bottles in a warm sunny place - and allow to ferment for 4 to 5 days. Then refrigerate and drink ice cold.

 

[PR_Brewer]

Yeah, pretty cool how they press the cane right there on the spot, but way too sweet IMHO.

Guarapo is basically drinking sugar. I'm from Puerto Rico. I'm looking for ways to create a hard mavi, similar to how some brewers do the hard root beer. What should be the adequate sugar/yeast ratio to obtain al least 4% ABV. Mavi is very low in alcohol, I want to get more alcohol without compromising the natural flavors of the drink. Any advice?

 

[PR_Brewer]

1 ounce of mavi tree bark
1/2 ounce of fresh ginger, sliced thin
1 stick whole cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of water
12 ½ cups of water
2 ½ cups of granulated sugar
2 ½ cups of dark brown sugar
2 cups of previously made mavi ***

Directions:
Place 1 and 1/2 cups of water in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the Mavi bark, ginger, whole cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, remove from heat and strain into a clean bowl. Discard the solids. Allow liquid to cool.

In a large bowl.. mix 12 1/2cups of water, granulated sugar, brown sugar and mix well, until the sugars are dissolved. Add the mavi liquid and the previosly prepared mavi and mix well. The mixture will begin to foam.

Pour the mavi into the gallon bottle and cap loosely, with cloth or the cap with a hole cut into it. Do not plug it too tightly. The fermentation will create pressure.

Place the bottle in direct sunlight for 5 to 8 days. If the sun isn’t out that much.. let it ferment for another 2 or 3 days.

NOTE: When previously prepared mavi is not available.. others have added a bit of active dry wine yeast after the maví has been prepared. I have never made this with the yeast, so if you do.. follow the directions that come with the wine yeast.

I'm from Puerto Rico. I'm looking for ways to create a hard mavi, maybe similar to how some brewers do the hard root beer. What should be the adequate sugar/yeast ratio to obtain al least 4% ABV. Mavi is very low in alcohol, I want to get more alcohol without compromising the natural flavors of the drink. Any advice or something to try? I was thinking of infusing beer with Mavi, but mavi has a lot of sugar and may ruin the brew. My best bet is to find a way to increase the Mavi ABV by using wine yeast. I think that the yeast will help to break the sugar producing more alcohol. Is this a good start?