Souma: The Secret Spirit of Chios You've Never Heard Of
Distilled from sun-dried figs and grape pomace, souma is the island's best-kept secret
Ask any Greek what the spirit of Chios is and they will say mastiha. Ask a Chian, and they will look around carefully before leaning in and saying: souma.
Souma is the island spirit. Distilled from a mash of sun-dried figs and grape pomace in copper pot stills, it is smooth, fruity, and deeply local — rarely found outside Chios, barely known outside Greece, and exactly the kind of thing that makes the island so rewarding for the curious traveler.
What It Tastes Like
Souma is not sweet like a liqueur, but it has a natural fruit sweetness from the figs. It is smooth — much smoother than ouzo or tsipouro — with a warm finish and a faint caramel note from the distillation. The best soumas have a complexity that develops as they sit in the glass.
In the medieval village of Mesta, locals serve a local wine called mastoutsiko alongside souma as the traditional welcome drink. Together they are an introduction to Chian hospitality that no food tour can replicate.
How to Drink It
Cold, in small glasses, with food. Souma is a digestif and an aperitif and a companion to a long lunch — the Chians are not fussy about when it is appropriate. The important thing is that it is cold and that there is food on the table.
Getting Some
Souma is available in our shop — we source it directly from a small family distillery in the Mastichochoria. It is the real thing, made the way it has been made on Chios for generations.