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We cannot have tuba without getting it from its source. Tuba cannot just appear on one’s table from out of nowhere. The question that comes into my mind is how people extract tuba from the coconut tree. A manananggot—one who gathers tuba from the coconut’s bud—answers it all. The manananggot or the tuba gatherer extracts the tuba from a bungol or buluk—the unopened and young coconut bud that flowers into the fruit when it reaches its state of maturity. The whole process of collecting tuba is called dawat—a Cebuano term which means “to receive.”

But, how will the manananggot know if a certain coconut tree produces tuba? The only way to know is to test it. How does he test it? He slices the bungol and he waits a day in order to know if it can produce tuba. He’ll definitely know if it can manufacture wine

Tuba is a part of our rich culture. It is just a part of our progressive past that is still to be discovered. This tells us that even we Cebuanos can produce our own beverage that we can be proud of.

This indigenous liquor is said to be already existent even before Spanish colonization. This was the official wine of every tribe at that time. This was proven by the writings of Pigafetta, the official chronicler of Ferdinand Magellan during the time when they colonized the Philippines.

In Cebu, Pigafetta drank palm wine with Rajah Humabon, the chief of Mactan that time. This only shows that since then, this liquor has been a witness to our history.

Folk songs and poems have been written about the tuba. Some of them are as follows:

    * “Kondansoy” (a Cebuano folk song)
    * “Si Pilemon” (a Cebuano folk song)
    * Tigmo (a

Have you ever tasted liquors and wines? I know some of you already have. It will be a miracle if you haven’t.

Well, if you think you’ve already tasted all the good wines, then it’s now time for you to think again because here you’ll discover a new wine that will make your mouth water. It is a wine we are very sure most of you haven’t tasted yet. Together, let us discover Cebu’s famous liquor—tuba.

Tuba in Philippine History

In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, the first colonizer of the Philippines, arrived with troop in one of the provinces in the Philippines and was then offered a bamboo tube containing a drink.

The drink was said to be the sap taken from coconut flowers before they bloom. The sap is mixed with the bark of Rhizophora ocally known as tungog. After some time, it ferments and becomes a mild alcoholic drink having