Local Drinks

1. Ikawa

   Coffee

   Usage

   Rwanda's signature crop. It arrived around 1900 and is now the country's second export crop after tea. Kigali cafés serve it brewed by the cup

2. Icyayi

   Tea

   Usage

   Cultivation began in 1952 and tea is now the top export earner, reaching 34% of all exports. Served brewed with hot water

   Grammar Note

   A class 7 noun: the prefix "iki-" becomes "icy-" before a vowel. Modifiers agree with gi-, as in "Icyayi gikaze" (strong tea).

3. Ikivuguto

   Ikivuguto (fermented milk)

   Usage

   A traditional drink of fermented cow's milk, comparable to yoghurt and kefir; dairy shops serve it in large cups.

   Grammar Note

   A class 7 (iki-) noun; the prefix stays "iki-" before the voiced v, whereas it becomes "igi-" before the voiceless k of "igikoma".

4. Inshyushyu

   Inshyushyu (warm fresh milk)

   Usage

   Inshyushyu means warm milk. Dairy shops offer it alongside ikivuguto, its fermented counterpart.

5. Ubushera

   Ubushera (non-alcoholic sorghum drink)

   Usage

   A traditional unfermented drink of sorghum (amasaka) and water; also called "non-alcoholic sorghum beer". Preparation involves soaking the sorghum three days, drying and milling it, boiling the flour about an hour, thinning it with water and leaving it covered for twelve hours

   Grammar Note

   A class 14 (ubu-) noun; a mass noun with no plural.

6. Igikoma

   Igikoma (thin grain-flour gruel)

   Usage

   A thin gruel of grain flour boiled in water, drunk rather than chewed. It is made from ground sorghum (amasaka) and making ubushera passes through this stage; often given to children and to mothers after childbirth

   Grammar Note

   A class 7 noun: the k of the prefix "iki-" becomes voiced g to avoid a following voiceless k (dissimilation, Dahl's law), giving "igi-".

7. Umutobe w'ibitoki

   Banana juice

   Usage

   The sweet juice pressed from cooking bananas. Children are fond of it and fermenting it produces urwagwa; freshly pressed, it is not alcoholic

   Grammar Note

   "W'" is the class 3 connector "wa" elided before a vowel, linking "umutobe" (class 3) to "ibitoki".

8. Umutobe w'imbuto

   Fruit juice

   Usage

   Fruit juice in general. To name the fruit, replace "imbuto" with the specific fruit

   Grammar Note

   "W'" is the class 3 connector "wa" elided before a vowel.

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