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{{short description|Traditional Chagga beverage made from fermented bananas}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2011}}
[[image:Mbege.jpg|thumb|220px|alt=Mbege being poured|right| ''Mbege'', a traditional chagga brew]]

'''Mbege''' is a kind of [[Banana beer|banana drink]] traditional to the [[Chagga]] ethnic group of [[Tanzania]] located in ''Kilimanjaro'' region. It is a mildly [[alcoholic drink]] made from fermented [[banana]]s and [[finger millet]].<ref name=nature>{{cite journal |display-authors=5| last=Temba | first=Godfrey S. | last2=Pecht | first2=Tal | last3=Kullaya | first3=Vesla I. | last4=Vadaq | first4=Nadira | last5=Mosha | first5=Mary V. | last6=Ulas | first6=Thomas | last7=Kanungo | first7=Sneha | last8=van Emst | first8=Liesbeth | last9=Bonaguro | first9=Lorenzo | last10=Schulte-Schrepping | first10=Jonas | last11=Mafuru | first11=Elias | last12=Lionetti | first12=Paolo | last13=Mhlanga | first13=Musa M. | last14=van der Ven | first14=Andre J. | last15=Cavalieri | first15=Duccio | last16=Joosten | first16=Leo A. B. | last17=Kavishe | first17=Reginald A. | last18=Mmbaga | first18=Blandina T. | last19=Schultze | first19=Joachim L. | last20=Netea | first20=Mihai G. | last21=de Mast | first21=Quirijn | title=Immune and metabolic effects of African heritage diets versus Western diets in men: a randomized controlled trial | journal=Nature Medicine | date=3 April 2025 | issn=1078-8956 | doi=10.1038/s41591-025-03602-0 | doi-access=free | page=| pmc=12092257 }}</ref> Making mbege is labor-intensive and time-consuming as the majority of the process is done by hand without the aid of modern technology. The initial taste of mbege is said to be{{by whom|date=October 2015}} sweet and is followed by a slightly sour aftertaste.

==Process==

Mbege is the [[Chaga people|Chagga tribe's]] heritage beer.<ref name=nature/> To make it, bananas are mashed and then cooked in a cooking pot over a fire for 6 hours. The mixture is then covered and left outside to [[Fermentation (food)|ferment]] for up to 7 days. The fermented mixture is strained through shredded grass and banana leaves and a thick porridge made from the flour of [[finger millet]] (Eleusine coracana) and water is added to the strained liquid. A small amount of quinine-bark flour is then added to the mixture in order to tone down some of the sweetness of the bananas. It is then left to sit out for another day before it is ready to be consumed.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Kubo | first1=Ryosuke | last2=Kilasara | first2=Method | title=Brewing Technique of Mbege, a Banana Beer Produced in Northeastern Tanzania | journal=Beverages | volume=2 | issue=3 | date=3 August 2016 | issn=2306-5710 | doi=10.3390/beverages2030021 | doi-access=free | page=21}}</ref> The resultant beverage has an alcohol content of 1–3%, depending on the duration of fermentation. The fermentation enriches Mbege with bioactive metabolites and microbes, such as ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]'' and ''[[lactobacilli]]'', supplementing the health-promoting compounds naturally present in bananas and millet.<ref name=nature/>

==Health effects==
A small study, published in the journal [[Nature (journal)|Nature]], was made comparing African diets with western-type diets.<ref>{{cite news| last=Lay | first=Kat | title=Move over, Med diet – plantains and cassava can be as healthy as tomatoes and olive oil, say researchers |newspaper=The Guardian | date=17 April 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/apr/17/mediterranean-diet-african-food-tanzania-heritage-traditional-healthy}}</ref> Changes in circulating [[leukocyte]] profiles, the inflammatory and cardiometabolic proteome, whole-blood [[cytokine]] responses and transcriptome, and plasma metabolome were assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention and 4 weeks later. Health advantages were found to the African diet. In particular a small cohort who habitually ate a western diet had mbege added for a week. The study found in general that changing from a western to an African diet had significant health benefits. Consumption of mbege, even with a western diet, reduced, among others, [[neutrophil]] activation and boosted cytokine responses to ''[[Candidiasis|Candida]]''. Detailed measurements reported in the [[Scholarly paper|paper]] found that drinking mbege induced a rapid shift in cardiometabolic proteins and a sustained reduction in inflammatory proteins.

The researchers warned that consumption of these fermented beverages should be balanced against risks such as the alcohol content and potential [[mycotoxin]] contamination.<ref name=nature/>

==In popular culture==
*The process of making mbege was featured on [[Travel Channel]]'s show [[Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern]].<ref>Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern (Season 4, Episode 1: Tanzania)</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{portal|Beer}}
[[Category:African cuisine]]
[[Category:Culture of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Types of beer]]
{{African cuisine}}


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