Sapa
Sapa is a syrup made from the sap of trees, and is a staple at meals in every corner of Nemea. History says that at one time, Honey was the go-to sweetener, but with the near-extinction of bees, it became unobtainable by all but a few. Sapa, however, can be made from any number of trees.
Interestingly, it also has a place of honor with salt, in the standard, wintertime exchange with the Kallikantzaroi.
Manufacturing process
Sapa comes from the sap of trees. A metal tube is hammered in at an angle, and a pail placed beneath, so that the sap can drip out and be collected in the pail. Some keen traders specialize in groves of trees particularly bred for the sweetness and flavor of the sapa that comes from them.
Depending upon the producer, it may also go through a heating process, or be blended with sapa from a different species of tree.
by by JC with Canva
History
Sapa has been used for as far back as we have written history. However, it only became the sweetener of choice after the Desolation, when honey disappeared from even informal commerce, and was thought to no longer exist.
Significance
While sapa's greatest significance is as the most common and beloved sweetener that graces all dinner tables, it is also culturally significant as a featured ingredient in humans' interactions with the Kallikantzaroi. Without the ritual of leaving sapa and salt in exchange for the Kallikantzaroi's labor in the fixing of broken things, the creatures would presumably be left to their own, troublemaking, devices.
Item type
Consumable, Food / Drink
Rarity
Sapa is very commonly used and easily affordable by all but the most beggared of commoners.
Tools
A metal tube, hammar, and pail.
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