Tej

Tej is a type of honey wine popular in Ethiopia. In the northern part of the country and in Eritrea people call it mes.

This alcoholic beverage made during fermentation of honey also includes sort of buckthorn called gesho (Rhamnus prinoides). It is used as bittering substance. It has the same purpose as hops in the production of beer.

Tej in a berele bottle

Prior to the 19th century tej was drank only by the members of the royal family. When in Ethiopia the best way to enjoy tej is to visit a special bar known as tej bet or ``tej house''. There you will get your tej in a glass bottle called a berele. This bottle has long narrow neck and wide bottom. Tej is traditionally drank out of the berele but you can use ordinary glass too. In the past the Ethiopians drank their tej out of a cup made of animal horn.

The locals drink tej during special religious and other social events like weddings, for example. Tej is sometimes used in cuisine too. For example some women add some tej when preparing the Wat stew.

Wat stew

Tej is of yellow colour. It is a sweet drink. But one has to remember that sweetness kind of hides the fact that tej has up to 11% of alcohol. The strongest tej requires very long fermentation. This tej is called ``derek'' (``dry''). This tej has kind of bitter taste.

The most common tej is ``makakalanya''. It is of average sweetness. There is also a milder type of tej that is called ``laslasa'' or ``birz''. This tej has no gesho and requires only few days to be made. There are special types of tej of different flavour like for example orange, coffee, ginger etc.

References

Tej
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tej

Sampling Tej, Traditional Ethiopian Honey Wine
http://cooksipgo.com/tej-ethiopian-honey-wine/

Agamé `Tej' or `Mes' - a delicious honey wine! ... And a bit
about Sabagadis.
http://jhodgesagame.blogspot.hr/2013/08/agame-tej-or-mes-delicious-honey-wine.html

All About Tej
http://www.pitt.edu/~kloman/tej.html

Wat (food)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_%28food%29


Images

Tej in a berele bottle (photo by Ji-Elle, Wikimedia)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Addis-Abeba-Tej.jpg

Wat stew (photo by stu_spivack, Flickr)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/35034346243@N01/2985293222