Colonial-Era Fizz · Tsitsibira
Tsitsibira (Corfu Ginger Beer)
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It's a leftover of British rule: the United Kingdom governed the Ionian Islands until 1864, and when the British left, Corfiotes kept brewing their ginger beer — turning a colonial import into one of the island's proudest local traditions.
Tsitsibira is a lightly fermented, fizzy ginger drink made from water, sugar, lemon and fresh ginger. It's cloudy, tangy-sweet, and mildly spicy, sold by small local producers and street stalls across Corfu, usually served ice-cold.
Why it's made this way: Corfu is the one place in Greece with this drink because it's the only Greek island the British ever ruled — the Ionian Islands were a British protectorate from 1815 to 1864, and ginger beer came ashore with the garrison.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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