Tej
Ethiopia's national honey wine, brewed with gesho.
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Tej is a honey wine, similar to mead, that people brew and drink in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Its alcohol content usually falls between 7 and 11%. Most often made at home, it relies on three core ingredients: honey, water, and a medicinal shrub called gesho (Rhamnus prinoides).
Sociocultural significance
Commercial versions are also available in many varieties. People commonly consume tej during social gatherings like festivals and weddings, as well as religious events such as the Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash. Because of this, tej plays a key role in Ethiopian life and culture and is regarded as the country’s national drink.
In Ethiopia, tej is either homemade or served at special tej houses. It is typically presented in a flask-like pitcher or bottle known as a berele. A separate beverage, berz, refers to Ethiopian honey water.
History
Tej has a long history within Ethiopian society and is believed to be one of the oldest alcoholic beverages ever produced. Although most tej is consumed in Ethiopia, it is not limited to that country. Fermented honey drinks in general are thought to be among the earliest alcoholic beverages. Tej has been made for generations in places like Eritrea, and other fermented honey drinks have appeared across the continent—for instance, Tanzanian wanzuki and Kenyan muratina.
No one knows exactly when honey, water, and gesho were first combined to create tej. However, excavations at the ancient Aksumite site of Beta Samati have uncovered evidence of wine consumption, suggesting tej has existed for many centuries. By the 16th century, it was used to honor warriors—Emperor Sarsa Dengel, for example, allowed the hero Aqba Mikael to drink tej in his presence.
Before the 1900s, only the king and those in his company could drink tej, and it was produced solely in the homes of the ruling class. Honey, the key ingredient, was collected as tax and land rent from the working classes during that period. Today, tej is made and available to the broader Ethiopian population and has become the nation’s drink.
Western experience with tej
One of the earliest Western written accounts of Ethiopia came from Father Francisco Álvares, a Portuguese priest who lived there with his mission for six years in the 1500s. He wrote about Ethiopian wine, specifically noting that the “wine of honey” was the best.
Lore & Background
Tej has an extensive history in Ethiopian society and is thought to be one of the oldest alcoholic beverages ever produced. Excavations at the ancient Aksumite site of Beta Samati have found evidence of wine consumption, suggesting tej has existed for many centuries.
By the 16th century, it was used to honor warriors, as when Emperor Sarsa Dengel let the hero Aqba Mikael drink tej in his presence. Prior to the 1900s, tej was only consumed by the King and others in his presence, and produced only in the houses of ruling classes; honey was received as tax and land rent from working classes. It is now made and available to the broader population.
Western accounts of tej date to the 1500s, when Portuguese priest Father Francisco Álvares wrote of 'wine of honey' as the best of all and recounted a celebration where guests were encouraged to drink copious amounts. In the 1600s, missionary Jeronimo Lobo noted that Ethiopians commonly drank beer and mead, that it was poor manners to let guests go without a drink, and that tej was always served by a servant. In 1869, Hormuzd Rassam wrote of being offered old, clear tej by Emperor Theodorus; despite an earlier aversion, he found it more enjoyable than any other Ethiopian alcoholic beverage he had tried.
Production
Tej is cloudy, yellowish, sweet, and effervescent. Its flavour depends on where bees source nectar, influenced by geography, vegetation, and climate. The most frequent recipe uses one part honey to five parts water, stirred in a traditional narrow-mouthed vessel (Genbo or Etro) until the honey dissolves.
Chopped stems and leaves of Rhamnus prinoides are boiled in water or a portion of the mixture for about 45 minutes, then added. The vessel is sealed airtight with a cotton cloth and left to ferment from a few days to months, stirred daily. After fermentation, the liquid is filtered through cloth to remove sediment. Variations include smoking the fermentation pot, adding spices like ginger or tamarind, khat (Catha edulis), or using crude honey.
Early productions included roasted barley to provoke fermentation, which would then ferment for only 5 to 6 days and be drunk after, not with, the meal. The bark or wood of Rhamnus staddo (sado wood) is also sometimes added. Producers often do not disclose exact ingredients.
Reader's Guide
Tej is most often produced through homebrewing, making it readily available to much of the Ethiopian population. It is used during important religious occasions such as Christmas, New Year (Enkutatash), Epiphany (Timkat), Easter (Fasika), and the discovery of the True Cross (Meskel), as well as social events like inaugural ceremonies, weddings, and festivals. Its frequent use during these occasions and its extensive history make tej Ethiopia's national drink.
Ethiopia produces the largest amount of honey in Africa, approximately 45,300 tonnes annually, with around 80% used in tej production. This underscores tej's importance in Ethiopian society, where honey and honey wines are also used for bartering. Tej is commonly consumed in and produced by tej houses (tejbet) located across villages, towns, and cities, and is also commercially produced by breweries both within Ethiopia and globally, resulting in a number of brands with different flavours and alcohol content.
Traditional alcoholic beverages like tej can be vital sources of calories and vitamin B, the latter resulting from fermenting yeasts, substrate residue, and other microorganisms. Honey and Rhamnus prinoides have medicinal importance, and Rhamnus staddo is being examined as a possible antimalarial candidate. As an alcoholic beverage and depressant, tej also carries potential negative impacts, including risk of dependency. Tej has been linked to alcoholism in Ethiopia due to its strong presence and sociocultural significance, which causes it to appear in multiple celebratory contexts.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Tej (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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