neera — Central Java, Indonesia

Neera is a sweet, pale and translucent sap collected from the flower stalks, or inflorescences, of toddy palms. In Central Java it is drawn from coconut and sugar palms growing in village groves and coastal plantations, then drunk fresh on the same day it is gathered. Because the sap begins to ferment naturally within hours of collection, neera is prized as a short-lived, delicate drink rather than a preserved one. Accounts of this drink come from across South and Southeast Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar, wherever toddy palms are tapped. In Central Java, tappers work through palm groves at dawn, moving from tree to tree before the heat of the day accelerates fermentation. Local households and small stalls near the groves sell the sap by the bottle, often within a few hours of the harvest. To draw the sap, a tapper climbs the palm and slices a thin sliver from the tip of an unopened flower spathe, then binds a clean container beneath the cut to catch the slow drip overnight or before sunrise. The vessel and blade are kept scrupulously clean, since any trace of yeast or bacteria speeds up fermentation. Once collected, the sap is filtered through cloth, chilled quickly, and served plain or lightly sweetened, sometimes with a squeeze of lime. Reports from this region describe neera served unfermented and cold, distinguishing it from the fermented toddy that the same sap becomes after standing, and from the syrupy palm sugar obtained by boiling it down. Some coastal communities add a pinch of salt or a few mint leaves to the glass, while others keep it entirely plain to let the natural sweetness and faint smokiness of the sap come through.