Nira Nipah is a traditional beverage that remains popular not only among the Malay community but also among other ethnic groups. In villages, the nira nipah industry provides a highly profitable source of supplementary income. Almost every part of the nipah palm can be utilized by humans. The nipah palm, scientifically known as Nypa fruticans, thrives in swampy, low-lying, and muddy areas. It has an underground stem, and its palm roots are typically hidden in the mud where it grows, rarely exposed except in coastal erosion areas. The air pockets and the leaf bases of the nipah palm provide significant buoyancy to its roots.

Older leaves shed when a 2-foot-long decay layer forms at the base of the fronds. Another layer of decay appears where the broad leaf joins the root. Nipah fronds can be used to make excellent roofing materials, and it is common to see the fronds being cut while preserving the young shoots. The tough outer cuticle of young leaves is stripped, cut to size, packed, and sold nationwide as cigarette wrappers.

The palm produces flowers at the tips of its stalks and branches, forming clusters. These flowers eventually produce fruit. Afterward, the fruit clusters are trimmed to extract nira (sap), with a single inflorescence yielding about one pint of sap per day for three months, producing roughly 11 gallons of sap. The sap from the nipah tree can also be fermented into liquor or tuak. Nipah fruit resembles a wedge in shape, with a structure similar to coconut, including husk, shell, flesh, and water. The young flesh of the fruit is edible, while the mature seeds are very hard.

There are three types of nipah palms:

1) Sawa Nipah Palm

Long stalks, large fronds, and big trunks with a lifespan of about three months.

2) Tembaga Nipah Palm

Medium-sized stalks, fronds, and trunks with a lifespan of about two months.

3) Rat-Tail Nipah Palm

Small stalks, fronds, and trunks, but the fruit is large, and it can produce sap for 28 days.