@colton.proveau: Chetopoti 🍉🏺🇧🇼 A wild-fermented watermelon drink from Botswana, and one of the most underrated ferments I’ve ever made. Chetopoti (also spelled setopoti and chetepoti) is traditionally brewed by women in the Tswapong and Bobirwa regions of eastern Botswana. It’s made seasonally when watermelons are ripe and often sold to support households and pay for kids’ schooling. It’s been passed down by hand and word of mouth for generations, and researchers only started documenting it in the last 15 years or so. The process is beautifully simple: crush ripe watermelon into a pulp, ferment it in a narrow-necked clay pot for a few days, and let the wild yeasts on the fruit do the work. Traditionally it’s strained through woven grass set inside a hollowed-out watermelon. No added yeast, no added sugar. Mine went 4 days in clay, then into a keg for some carbonation (my twist, since it’s traditionally served still). The result is tart, funky and unmistakably watermelon, like sour watermelon candy minus the sweetness. Low ABV and ridiculously drinkable. A drink that deserves way more attention. Have you ever tried it? 👇 #chetopoti #setopoti #botswana #fermentation #fermenteddrinks

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Thursday 22 October 2026 20:01:47 GMT