Local Drinks

1. Amasi

   Amasi (traditional cultured sour milk)

   Usage

   Amasi is an uphuzo (drink): fresh milk left for a few days until sour, often eaten with uphuthu. It is not alcoholic. It is dairy, so show the declaration card first if you have a lactose or milk issue.

   Grammar Note

   A class 6 noun. Amasi is the plural of class 5 isi (a lump of curdled milk); the singular is rarely used.

2. Amahewu

   Amahewu (non-alcoholic fermented maize drink)

   Usage

   A thick drink of thinned maize porridge, lightly fermented. It is a signature traditional food and drink alongside uphuthu, amasi and ujeqe, sold in supermarket cartons too. ⚠ Uchatha / umchatha means "enema", a different word never to use for this drink.

   Grammar Note

   A class 6 noun. Begins with ama- and is used collectively. The prefix-dropped form mahewu also occurs; the citation form is amahewu.

3. I-rooibos

   Rooibos tea

   Usage

   South Africa’s most widely drunk indigenous tea, caffeine-free so it can be ordered late in the evening. It is spelled i-rooibos; an example is "I-rooibos iyashisa".

   Grammar Note

   A class 9 noun. A loanword prefixed with i-. The hyphen marks the loan and is part of the spelling. The subject concord is i-. Examples: I-rooibos iyashisa.

4. Iziphuzo

   Drinks (the beverages heading on a menu)

   Usage

   The word to look for over the drinks section on a Zulu menu. The singular is isiphuzo, as in "Itiye … isiphuzo" for tea and "Utshwala buyisiphuzo" for alcohol.

   Grammar Note

   The class 8 plural; the singular is class 7 isiphuzo. It is a noun derived from the verb phuza (to drink).

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