Tej

Tej is a honey wine or mead from Ethiopia and Eritrea. Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages dating back at least 20,000 years with origins in Africa. As early Africans gathered honey, they discovered wild-fermented mead. The thinking is that bees created hives inside hollowed out trees; honey and rainwater mixed, and over time natural wild yeasts started the fermentation process creating alcohol.

Tej is usually consumed on special occasions, this wine has great cultural significance for Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. Traditionally, it is made with a medicinal plant called gesho.

We bought this bottle of tej at Light of Africa restaurant in Brixton. This brand was brewed in Germany and imported to the UK.