Antidesma ghaesembilla fruit

What it is

The fruits have a velvety surface, dark red-purple colour and one or two seeds. They are eaten raw as well as cooked into jam. In Pleiku, fully black ripe fruit goes into the cooked base for chòi mòi tea.

The same fruit has many local names: binayuyo in Tagalog, arosep in Ilokano and onyam in Sundanese. Chòi mòi is its Vietnamese name.

Where it comes from

Its native range stretches from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to New Guinea and northern Australia. It grows in lowland forest, open ground and grassland. In Vietnam’s Gia Lai region, wild trees grow in forests and around Pleiku, including Gào, Ia Kênh and Biển Hồ.

How it's eaten where it grows

At Chạm Caffè in Pleiku, chòi mòi becomes a jasmine-tea drink. The fruit is washed, stripped of stalks and leaves, then cooked with sugar in the same way as mulberry jam. The mixture goes into jasmine tea with lemon juice, served with preserved longan. Its tartness and light astringency remain part of the drink.

Across its Southeast Asian range, the fruit is also eaten raw or made into jam. Young shoots have a separate place in the kitchen, as a vegetable or seasoning.

How it's grown

The tree carries tiny yellow-green to yellow-red flowers in branching clusters. These grow beside leaves and at the tips of branches. Insects pollinate the flowers, and birds eat the fruit. New trees can be raised from seed. It likes full sun and moist, well-drained soil.

When and where you'll find it

Around Pleiku, flowering and scattered fruit usually run from March to June, with the main crop arriving from July. Fresh chòi mòi sells in the area's traditional markets. The café buys its fruit from ethnic minority communities in Pleiku and nearby districts, turning the local crop into a cooked tea ingredient.