The connection between chibuku and the intellectual of books

[reader]

Dear Zambia,

Chibuku is a commercial sorghum beer based on the traditional Umqombothi home made African beers, the main grains used are malted sorghum and maize but may also contain millet. It was first brewed during the 1950s in Kitwe, Zambia by Max Heinrich, who trained in brewing in Berlin.

The name Chibuku comes from Max Heinrich's habit of recording all consumers' comments and process changes in a book, and Chibuku is an adaptation of the local word for "book" - "Chi" is the pre-fix meaning "language of", "buk" = "book", and the terminal "u" is because most African nouns tend to end in a euphonic vowel. The shake-shake comes from the ritual of first shaking up the beer before taking the first sip. The beer contains starch, the germ and yeast (all normally removed in lagers and ales) and since the solids settle to the bottom of the carton, it needs to be shaken before sipping.