Home / Kithul

Kithul · Caryota urens

Hand-tapped. Slow-boiled. Nothing added.

Kithul is Sri Lanka's oldest sweetener, and one of its least known abroad. Ours is tapped by village families around Sinharaja and made the way it always has been.

01 The palm

A rainforest palm that is tapped, not farmed.

The kithul palm grows wild in Sri Lanka's wet zone forests and in the home gardens of the villages around them. Nobody plants it in rows, sprays it or feeds it fertiliser.

When a palm flowers, a skilled tapper climbs it, often 15 m (50 ft) or more, using a bamboo ladder lashed to the trunk. He prepares the hanging flower stalk over several days, then cuts it so that sap begins to drip into a clay pot. He climbs back twice a day to collect it and to shave the stalk so the sap keeps flowing.

Fresh sap ferments within hours, so it goes straight to the hearth. There, usually in the hands of the women of the household, it is filtered and boiled for hours over a wood fire until it becomes treacle.

02 From palm to bottle

How our kithul is made.

Tap

Traditional tappers prepare and tap the flower stalks of mature palms around Sinharaja, collecting sap twice a day.

Boil

Fresh sap is filtered and slowly boiled over a wood fire the same day, with nothing added, until it reaches the right body.

Check

Each batch is checked for moisture and for cane-sugar adulteration before we accept it, and recorded by village and tapper.

Pack

Treacle is filtered again, hot-filled and sealed; jaggery is set, wrapped and packed for retail or bulk.

Flagship product

Kithul treacle

Kithul pani · also known as kithul honey

Dark amber, glossy and pourable, with notes of caramel, toffee and a gentle wood smoke from the hearth. Less cloying than cane syrup, and more complex than maple.

Ingredients	100% kithul (Caryota urens) sap. No added sugar, preservatives or colour.
Packing	Retail glass bottles; bulk food-grade containers; private label
Uses	Over curd, yoghurt and ice cream; pancakes and waffles; coffee and tea; baking; glazes; cocktails
Documents	Certificate of analysis per lot, including a cane-sugar adulteration check

Enquire about kithul treacle

Kithul

Kithul jaggery

Kithul hakuru

Treacle cooked further until it sets. Soft-cut, fudgy and deeply flavoured, it is the traditional sweetener for Sri Lankan sweets and a superb partner to dark chocolate and coffee.

Forms	Traditional blocks and small cubes
Ingredients	100% kithul sap
Packing	Wrapped blocks in cartons; retail packs; bulk lined cartons
Uses	Desserts and confectionery, chocolate, curries and sauces, beverages

Enquire about kithul jaggery

Kithul

Kithul granules

Milled kithul hakuru

Kithul jaggery dried and milled into a free-flowing, golden-brown sugar. It measures and dissolves like ordinary brown sugar, which makes it the easiest way for bakers and manufacturers to use kithul.

Ingredients	100% kithul sap
Texture	Fine or coarse, to specification
Packing	Retail kraft pouches; bulk lined paper sacks
Uses	Baking, beverages, spice rubs, granola, confectionery

Enquire about kithul granules

Kithul

Kithul flour

Kithul piti

A fine, traditional starch extracted from the pith of the kithul trunk. Used in Sri Lanka for porridges, steamed sweets and as a thickener. Supplied in limited quantities, as it is made only from palms at the end of their tapping life.

Ingredients	100% kithul pith starch
Packing	Retail pouches; bulk lined paper sacks
Uses	Porridge, traditional sweets, thickening for sauces and desserts

Enquire about kithul flour

03 The purity problem

Most "kithul" on the market isn't.

Adulteration of kithul treacle with cane sugar is a well-documented problem in Sri Lanka, and one that researchers have studied for years. It is hard to spot by eye, and it undermines what makes kithul special.

We deal with it at the source. Because we buy directly from tappers we know, we can trace every batch back to a village and a family, and we check each one before it is packed.

Ecoroots kithul

100% kithul sap
Traceable to village and tapper
Checked for cane sugar every batch
Boiled the same day it is tapped
Paid for directly, at a fair price

What we keep out

Cane sugar syrup
Coconut or palmyra treacle
Colours and flavourings
Preservatives
Anonymous, blended supply

04 Living heritage

A craft recognised by UNESCO.

In 2025, UNESCO inscribed Kithul Madeema/Kithul Kapeema, an ancient indigenous technology for tapping Kithul in Sri Lanka on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The craft is passed down within families, and it is under pressure: fewer young people take up tapping, and adulterated products undercut honest producers. Buying genuine kithul is the most direct way to keep it alive.

“The process entails climbing the tree using a ladder and wrapping the flower stalk with vine.” … “Traditionally, men collect the sap and women process it.”

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Kithul Madeema/Kithul Kapeema (2025)

05 In the kitchen

Where kithul belongs.

Curd & treacle

Sri Lanka's best-loved dessert: thick buffalo curd with a generous pour of treacle.

Breakfast

Over pancakes, waffles, porridge and yoghurt, in place of maple or honey.

Coffee & tea

A smoky, caramel sweetness for lattes, iced coffee and spiced teas.

Baking & pastry

Granules and treacle bring depth to cakes, cookies, flapjacks and glazes.

Chocolate & confectionery

Jaggery pairs naturally with dark chocolate, nuts and spice.

Bar & kitchen

Syrups for cocktails, and a rounded sweetness in marinades, dressings and curries.

Research note: a 2022 study published in the Ceylon Medical Journal measured a glycaemic index of 35 for kithul treacle. We share this as published research, not as a health claim for our products. Kithul treacle is a sugar and should be enjoyed as one.

Trade enquiries

Bring genuine Sinharaja kithul to your market.

Tell us the product, pack format, volume and destination. We'll reply with a specification, availability and a quotation. Samples can be arranged for qualified buyers.

Start an enquiry Request samples