Mauby Bark

Ravens Alley is now carrying Mauby Bark imported from Haiti.

In folk medicine, mauby is variously attributed to the capability of lower cholesterol, counteract arthritis, reduce high blood pressure, act as an aphrodisiac, relieve dysentery, lower diabetics’ blood sugar, and if nothing else, be an excellent thirst-slaking “cooling” beverage. In fact, recent studies from the University of the West Indies have shown that drinking mauby — mainly when made with young coconut water — can significantly decrease hypertension.

Mauby (or “mabi,” “mawbi,” “maubi,” etc.), is a desired beverage in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and most of the Caribbean. It derives its name from the main ingredient, the bark of the mauby tree, Colubrina arborescens, a buckthorn commonly referred to as “soldierwood” or “naked wood” in the States.

Strips of the bark are steeped in boiling water, to which a hefty amount of cane sugar and a variety of spices have been added. On many islands, a portion of a previous batch is used as a starter, and the whole is left to ferment for several days.