Akin to a milkshake, sea moss punch follows a straightforward recipe: blend together sea moss gel, milk, sweetener, spices and ice. The resulting flavour bears a resemblance to the richness and comfort of Christmas eggnog. The exact spices and their quantities are the real point of difference. Some prefer Angostura bitters and cinnamon. Others, like Lewis, only grated nutmeg. "Nutmeg and sea moss go hand in hand. Spice it up," he says, noting that he tends to a score of nutmeg trees just for this purpose.The main ingredient in sea moss punch, sea moss, actually refers to a number of different species of red algae that grow throughout the region and taste similar. "While hundreds of edible seaweed species grow naturally in the Caribbean, only about 10 are harvested for food," explains Dr Farahnaz Solomon, marine biologist and research officer at the Institute of Marine Affairs. Two species in particular, Gracilaria and Eucheuma, make up the majority of sea moss across the region and are well-suited to mariculture, the farming of sea moss on long strands in the ocean. St Lucia began the practice in the 1980s, followed by Grenada and Dominica.