Toddy palm sap fermented into a cloudy sour palm wine, drunk in village toddy huts. It is tapped from sugar palms in the dry zone around Bagan, where climbers cut the flower stalk daily and the sap ferments within hours of collection.
It ferments in the pot on the tree before anyone handles it — there is no preparation, only a climb and a cut.
What goes into it
- sugar palm sap
- nothing else
How it is made
A climber goes up the palm at dawn and again at dusk, slicing the flower stalk and hanging a clay pot to catch the sap. Wild yeasts in the pot ferment it as it drips, so it is sweet at collection and sour and alcoholic within a day. Fresh sap is also boiled down into palm jaggery.
How long it takes: hours; sour by the end of the day
How it is eaten
From a bowl in a toddy hut, with fried snacks; the fresh sweet sap is drunk as it comes or boiled to jaggery.
History
Tapped from sugar palms in the dry zone around Bagan; climbers cut the flower stalk daily, and the sap ferments within hours of collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is Htan Yay?
Htan Yay is a wine & spirit from Myanmar: toddy palm sap fermented into cloudy sour palm wine, drunk in village toddy huts. Tapped from sugar palms in the dry zone around Bagan; climbers cut the flower stalk daily, and the sap ferments within hours of collection.
How is Htan Yay made?
A climber goes up the palm at dawn and again at dusk, slicing the flower stalk and hanging a clay pot to catch the sap. Wild yeasts in the pot ferment it as it drips, so it is sweet at collection and sour and alcoholic within a day. Fresh sap is also boiled down into palm jaggery. It takes hours; sour by the end of the day.
Can I make Htan Yay at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It ferments in the pot on the tree before anyone handles it — there is no preparation, only a climb and a cut.
What goes into Htan Yay?
Sugar palm sap, nothing else.
How is Htan Yay eaten?
From a bowl in a toddy hut, with fried snacks; the fresh sweet sap is drunk as it comes or boiled to jaggery.
