The spirit of the nation, packed in a plastic sachet

For those fortunate enough to have visited Tanzania will no doubt get familiar with the local spirit, Konyagi. To give the rest some idea of what it’s like, the ingredients are ‘Fine spirit, konyagi flavor and deionised water’. Hmmm! Not sure I'm smarter now!


‘Tears Of the Lion’, it proudly states on its delightfully unsuspecting label. It’s not vodka, it’s not gin, it’s not water and it’s barely legal outside of East Africa. Ever wondered what the Hyenas in the Lion King were drinking? If I were a betting man, I’d say that it had to be the Konyagi.

The first selling point of this stuff is that it’s amazingly cheap. Just a few dollars will get you a large bottle. And as with so many other things in Tanzania, you can buy a single takeaway "serving" of. This is probably more of a result of economics than of convenience. And the fact you can frequently notice empty sachets of Konyagi along the side of the road tells you how popular is with the Tanzanians.

Anyway, if you ever meet Konyagi on your travels, make preparations to brush up on the clown within yourself and make sure you wear comfortable shoes, because you might at some point point start dancing. You never know where the spirit might take you!