Laércio de Souza Silva
Growing up on a farm in Tapirama, a small village in the state of Bahia, Laércio de Souza Silva, who goes by the nickname, Zulu, would help his father create homemade medications to help sick livestock get well. "My parents used modern medicines, of course, but I also learned about infusions."
With shells, roots, leaves, fruits, and flowers, Laércio would help create cures for simple ailments. He recalls using a jurubeba leaf tea and green Balsam tree bark infused in cold water to solve liver and digestive problems. As he got older, he came to apply the knowledge he had grown up with in creating his exotic cocktails, infused the flavors of Bahia.
