Tej Recipe

Tej recipe — Ethiopia's ancient honey wine with a bitter herbal twist that keeps you guessing. Originally from Ethiopia.

I'm the sophisticated cousin of mead who studied abroad and came back with an edge. Sweet honey warmth meets mysterious herbal bitterness — I'm complex enough to keep you intrigued but approachable enough for your first Ethiopian dining experience. Think of me as liquid storytelling in a round-bottomed flask.

Unlike honey wines and meads elsewhere in the world, Tej gets its signature dry, slightly bitter herbal edge from gesho — the leaves and twigs of Rhamnus prinoides, a buckthorn shrub native to the Ethiopian highlands. Without gesho, you don't have Tej; you have plain mead.

Tej has been flowing through Ethiopian culture for over 3,000 years, originally brewed in the highlands where wild honey was abundant. Ethiopian beekeepers discovered that combining their prized honey with indigenous gesho leaves created a complex fermented drink that became central to social and religious ceremonies throughout the region.

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw honey
• 6 cups filtered water
• 1/4 cup gesho leaves (or gesho powder)

Instructions

1. Boil water and dissolve honey completely, then cool to room temperature.
2. Add gesho leaves to cooled honey water and stir well.
3. Cover with cloth and ferment at room temperature for 2-4 weeks until desired sweetness and alcohol level.
4. Strain out gesho leaves and serve in traditional berele or wine glasses.

Category: traditional | Difficulty: medium | Base spirit: None | ABV: 7.0-15.0%

Origin: Ethiopia