Cerasee is one of the many varieties of the Monordica charantia plant specie. Other variants not grown in Jamaica are cultivated for the edible fruit known as bitter melon that they produce. The cerasee plant also bear a similar fruit but it locks the culinary appeal in both its size and taste. Though not cultivated, cerasee grows wild and free across the island has it strives in the local climatic condition.
Phylum: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plant)
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Cerasee is used locally to prepare a hot morning beverage simply known as cerasee tea. The tea is prepared by boiling for several minutes a portion of the vine along with leaves of the plant. The infused water is then drained into a cup and sugar added as needed. While sugar is the norm, condensed milk is an alternative sweetener. Cerasee tea is regarded less as just a hot beverage and more as an herbal medicine. It is one of the most popular herbal medicines locally. It is believed to counter the onset and progression of diabetes, intestinal worm and purge the blood.
