For The Love of Mauby

My go-to drink is, and forever will be Mauby. Refreshing. Tantalizing to my palette. A sweet taste of Barbados. It resonates nostalgia and happiness within me. Mauby can be made from either the tree bark or the syrup.

Naturally, mauby is made from a type of Buckthorn tree called the Soldierwood or Mabi. The drink is made from the dried bark from the tree, by boiling it in water, then adding ingredients like spices and sugar. The taste of the drink isn’t comparable to another, but the after taste is definitely an acquired one for bitterness.

Fun fact: Mauby is widely consumed throughout the Caribbean and carries different names. In Puerto Rico, they call it Mavi, in Haiti and Dominican Republic they call it Mabi, and in the Virgin Islands they call it Maubi.

Picture of mauby bark taken from http://gaylecooks.blogspot.com/

Truth be told, I only developed a liking for Mauby during my later teenage years. As a young child, I always thought the after taste was an unnecessary and unpleasant way to consume a beverage. However, after being introduced to a homemade version of Mauby drink from the bark with little to no after taste, this was the beginning to the truest love I have ever known.

For those of us who take the lazy…or easier route (like myself), we choose to buy the Mauby syrup to recreate this local popular favourite. The method is easy and quick. One simply mixes water with the syrup to create the same great drink, in 3/4 of the time; a.k.a less than 5 minutes. In Barbados, almost any Bajan who enjoys this premier refresher, will tell you their preferred brand is Sweet and Dandy, as pictured below.

Some may even argue that Mauby syrup makes a better tasting drink compared to being prepared from the bark. I want to know, do you prefer the syrup or the bark? Post in the comments below!

Thank you so much for visiting Bajan Bite, I hope you enjoyed the read!