Kunun zaki--a cereal-based non-alcoholic, non-carbonated beverage--was studied. The ratio of blends of major ingredients, nutrient, amino acid content and sensory qualities of kunun zaki generated with different saccharifying agents were investigated. The main ingredients of the formulations were malted rice, sweet potato, soybeans and Cadaba farinosa (Dangarafa or Legel in Hausa), each used separately with sorghum to produce a kunun zaki type. The weight ratios of the major ingredients were 8:91 for malted rice-sorghum, 7:92 for sweet potato-sorghum, 9:90 for soybean-sorghum and 4:95 for Cadaba farinosa-sorghum blends with ginger contributing 1% in each case as a spice. The nutrient composition of kunun zaki samples from different saccharifying agents ranged from 87 to 91% for moisture, 3.19 to 7.86% for crude protein, 0.37 to 0.75% for fat, 0.93 to 1.20% for ash and 2.69 to 5.84% for carbohydrate. Glutamic acid (4.49-11.66 g) was the most abundant amino acid in the samples while cysteine was the least abundant (0.34-1.45 g) in all the samples. The lowest concentration of all the essential amino acids except for tryptophan occurred when malted rice was used (0.44-1.40 g). Among the essential amino acids, cysteine, valine, isoleucine and methionine occurred in extremely low quantities compared with FAO/WHO reference protein values. The dual role (saccharification and enrichment) of soybean in kunun zaki processing is a desirable attribute and offers an advantage over the other agents. The different saccharifying agents had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on colour and flavour of kunun zaki but did influence sweetness, mouthfeel and overall acceptability. The beverage made with malted rice was most liked overall.