THE coconut vinegar, locally known as sukang tuba, is traditionally produced by fermenting the coconut sap for months before it becomes the Filipino staple condiment. In most cases, coconut sap-filled containers are exposed to the sun to expedite its fermentation.
Because of the long wait the process entails, some coconut farmers or vinegar vendors cut the fermentation phase and dilute them with water or add souring agents to be able to sell more and fast. This malpractice somehow buried the traditional and natural way of producing sukang tuba.
The curious and knowledge-hungry Chef Henry Tejamo was not in a quest to revive the tradition when he went home to Davao City after leaving his work in Manila as a chef. But his initial mission to explore and study spices he can experiment with led him to open the barrel containing the sukang tuba’s traditional method.
While travelling to other parts of the country, the bird’s eye chili in Laak, Davao de Oro piqued his interest because it is juicy and tasty.
“Since lami siya nga type of siling labuyo, then nag isip ko og unsa ang akong pwede nga manegosyo nga dili mapan-os (Since it is a delicious type of chili, I was thinking what can be a good business to compliment it that does not spoil),” he said.
He added, “Unya si suka kay halos ginagamit siya every day sa mga tao and dili siya mapan-os bisag ma stock siya. Musamot pag aslom (Vinegar is used by people almost every day and it does not go bad but better after a long time).”
He studied how to produce vinegar and discovered the way it was done in the old days.
“Nakita nako didto ang sinaunang pamaagi nga ibutang ang suka sa banga unya ibutang ang suka (I learned about the old ways of making vinegar where you ferment it inside an earthen jar),” he said, realizing it was rarely being practiced.
He later met Eli, one of the coconut farmers in Toril who still practices exposing containers of coconut sap under the sun's heat while fermenting it to produce the vinegar.
After immersing with the mananggiti or sap gatherers, he started to buy containers of sukang tuba from them and perfected the mix of chili and ginger – the main ingredients of his five-year-old Ellie’s Premium Sukang Tuba business.
His daughter, Ellie, was still a baby when he began so he can only buy as much as P90 of vinegar and can only produce four bottles a day.
He sold it for P120 to neighbors and friends and later gained resellers. The business grew and reached General Santos, Davao Oriental, and Manila. He can now produce more than 4,000 bottles in a month.
Tejamo said the coconut farmers ferment 300 containers of 20 liter of coconut sap every day since they also supply to other restaurants. But he realized it is more difficult to ferment during rainy seasons or from September to January since they rely on the sun’s heat.
“[It normally takes] 30 to 40 days ang fermentation pag gwapo ang init pero pag rainy season, struggle kaayo siya kay dili siya maka ferment og suka. Usahay mag abot og 70 to 80 days ang fermentation so dugay kaayo ang production (If the weather is good, fermentation takes 30 to 40 days but the production is longer during rainy season because it needs about 70 to 80 days to ferment),” he said.
Rather than resorting to adding water or acetic acid, Tejamo and the farmers studied other techniques. Instead of profit, he chose to keep the farmers’ tradition.
“Gi-love man gud na nila. Kung ila pud silang sulsulan nga butangan ng acetic acid, awayon ka nila kay diha na man gud ang ilahang life. Makita nimo ang ilahang way of life (It has been their way of life. They would get mad if you insinuate to put acetic acid),” he said.
“Dili man pud ko gusto nga mag mass production ta unya gubaon nato ang kultura. Happy ko nga nakita nako maskin wala koy income-mon basta naa lang ang kultura or history sa vinegar (I do not want to disrupt their culture just to mass produce. Even if I do not gain much from it, I will be happy as long as the culture and history is there),” Tejamo added.
He has also been repurposing liquor bottles that he buys from some people in Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) because more than anything else, he wanted Ellie’s Premium Sukang Tuba not to be a preserver of culture but a sustainable livelihood for the farmers and the people involved in the value chain.
Last year, Ellies Premium Sukang Tuba was named the Best Fermented Coconut Sap Vinegar in Davao City in the 16th Q Asia’s National Product Quality Excellence Awards 2019 by the Q Asia Publication.