Meaning
A thick, sweet, creamy drink made from a boiled seaweed (sea moss) blended with milk, sugar, and warm spices like nutmeg and vanilla. Regarded as a nourishing tonic and, by widespread popular reputation, a booster of male stamina and virility, Irish moss is drunk both as a treat and as a strength-builder, sold at juice bars and made at home. The seaweed is gathered on the shore and dried, and the smooth, gelatinous drink it makes is one of the island's favourite natural tonics.
Examples
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Drink a Irish moss fi build up yuh strength.
Drink an Irish moss to build up your strength.
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Di vendor sell cold Irish moss inna bottle.
The vendor sells cold Irish moss in bottles.
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Dem seh Irish moss good fi di man dem.
They say Irish moss is good for men's vitality.
Origin
Named for the sea moss (a red algae, similar to the plant called Irish moss) it is made from; long valued in the Caribbean as a strengthening tonic.
How it’s used
Both the seaweed and the drink; noted as a nutritious tonic with a reputation as an aphrodisiac.