The Ancient Tradition of Saliva-Fermented Alcohol

Most people today would find the idea of chewing and spitting as the first step to making alcohol rather confronting — yet for millennia, this was one of humanity’s simplest and most effective brewing techniques. Chewing starch-rich foods like maize, cassava, or rice allows enzymes in saliva, especially amylase, to break down complex starches into simple sugars. Yeast cannot ferment starch directly, but it can ferment sugar. 

Before malted grains and mold starters (like Japanese koji or Korean nuruk), human saliva was one of the easiest ways to “mash” starch. This process — called saliva fermentation — produced some of the world’s earliest beers, wines, and spirits, many of which are still made today in traditional communities.

How Saliva Fermentation Works

The science is surprisingly simple. When you chew starchy foods, enzymes in your saliva convert starch into sugar — which is why a plain cracker held on the tongue slowly begins to taste sweet.

Traditionally, people would chew grains or roots, spit the mash into a communal pot, and allow it to ferment for several days. Wild yeasts and bacteria turn the sugars into alcohol and acid, producing a lightly alcoholic, tangy drink. These include:

Kuchikami Sake (Japan)

“Kuchikami” literally means “mouth-chewed,” and this sake is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks recorded in Japan. During the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE), women would chew steamed rice and spit it into a vessel, where it would ferment into a cloudy, milky drink.

The 2016 anime 君の名は (Your Name) actually featured this drink, which was brewed by the temple priestess Mitsuha for a special ceremony.

Its flavor is mildly sweet with a soft yogurt-like tang, and alcohol levels are around 6–8% — relatively strong compared to other saliva-fermented drinks. Very few producers still make it, though some experimental brewers in Japan have revived the style for educational and cultural purposes.

Today’s sake uses koji mold to convert starch into sugar, but kuchikami sake offers a glimpse into an earlier, more intimate brewing method. 

Chicha (Andes)

Perhaps the most famous of the chewed alcohols, chicha is a corn beer that was central to the Inca Empire. Women, often called mamacona, would chew maize kernels to form small balls which were left out to dry and then made into porridge that was fermented for 3 to 6 days in large earthenware vats.

Chicha was traditionally consumed in large communal settings, both for festivals and for everyday nourishment. It is lightly sour, slightly sweet, and cloudy, with a very low alcohol content of 1–3%. The color of the drink varies depending on the type of maize it is made from, ranging from pale yellow to burgundy red.

Today, in parts of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, many producers use malted corn (called jora) instead of chewing for convenience. In Andean towns, you can find traditional chicherias (home taverns) or even pushcarts selling fresh chicha in multiple colors.

Masato (Peru)

Moving from the Andes to the Amazon, masato is an Indigenous cassava beer prepared in much the same way as chicha. Cassava roots are peeled, boiled, chewed, and spat into a fermentation vessel. After one to three days, the result is a lightly sour, slightly fizzy, mildly alcoholic drink.

Masato is often consumed daily in villages as both a beverage and a source of calories, and it is a key offering of hospitality — a guest may be handed a gourd of masato the moment they arrive. While some modern communities have shifted to grating cassava instead of chewing, the traditional process still persists in remote parts of the Amazon.

Cauim (Brazil)

Similar to masato but found across Brazil’s Indigenous communities, cauim can be made from cassava, maize, or a combination of both. Women traditionally prepared the brew by chewing the starches, sometimes together as a social activity.

Cauim is a little stronger than masato — usually 2–4% alcohol — and has an earthy, mildly sour taste with a smooth mouthfeel. Like many other chewed drinks, it was historically consumed in large communal gatherings, and its production and serving were deeply tied to ritual life.

Kasiri (Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela)

Further north along the Caribbean coast of South America, kasiri is another cassava-based beer, and would usually be made with added grated purple potato or yam (hence its purple appearance).

It is a little more assertive in flavor than cauim, sometimes slightly bitter because of cassava’s natural compounds, which are broken down by cooking and fermentation.

Kasiri can be stronger, around 3–5% ABV, and is often used in ceremonial contexts or at community feasts. While the saliva-fermented version remains a marker of cultural identity in many Amerindian villages, commercial kasiri can be found quite widely.

Other indigenous alcoholic drinks that can be found in the region include piwari and parakari (both made with cassava) and fly (made with sweet potato).

The Communities and Their Context

Across these regions, saliva-fermented drinks are more than just alcohol — they are social glue. They mark hospitality, bring people together, and in many cases are tied to rituals of fertility, harvest, and the changing of seasons.

The act of chewing is sometimes seen as a rite of participation, especially when limited to certain groups (such as women of the village).

In modern times, these drinks face the same pressures as many Indigenous practices: urbanization, commercialization, and changing tastes. But they continue to be made where they hold cultural meaning — and are increasingly appreciated by travelers, culinary historians, and craft brewers who want to understand the deep roots of human fermentation.

Try It Yourself

If you’re curious about how this works, you can try a safe, simple version at home. Take a plain, unsalted cracker or piece of white bread and let it sit on your tongue. After 30–60 seconds, you’ll notice it tastes sweeter — that’s the amylase in your saliva breaking down starch into sugar. Traditional brewers simply spat this chewed mash into a pot and let it ferment naturally, creating the drinks described above.

You don’t have to ferment your own, of course, but this little experiment lets you experience the first step of one of humanity’s oldest brewing traditions.