Meaning
A wild, sprawling bitter vine whose leaves are boiled into a famously bitter tea, a cornerstone of Jamaican bush medicine. Cerasee tea is taken above all to 'wash out' and cleanse the system, and for colds, fever, skin problems, and a host of other complaints, its very bitterness felt to be the measure of its healing power. Growing freely over fences and bush, it is among the most trusted and widely used of all the household bush remedies, brewed whenever the body needs purging or building back up.
Examples
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Granny mek mi drink cerasee fi clean out mi blood.
Grandma made me drink cerasee tea to cleanse my system.
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Cerasee bitter bad, but it good fi yuh.
Cerasee is terribly bitter, but it's good for you.
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Boil di cerasee vine fi tea.
Boil the cerasee vine to make tea.
Origin
The Jamaican name for the plant Momordica charantia (wild bitter melon); the word likely came through Portuguese and Spanish contact in the Caribbean.
How it’s used
A trusted home remedy, proverbially bitter — 'bitter like cerasee' describes anything very bitter. Central to Jamaican bush medicine.