Montezuma Tej

[crowquill]

Last night, I opened a bottle of Tej from Montezuma Winery in Seneca Falls, NY. Montezuma does a variety of meads most of which I haven't been too impressed with. The sweeter meads tend to be too sweet for me and the dry meads taste too young. I think the tej is a new product. It's not listed on their website and I don't recall ever seeing it at the winery before. This is the only example of a tej that I've ever had.

This mead was very good. It's a semi-sweet mead and 11.5% ABV. The gesho gave it a touch of bitterness that offset the residual sugar. It was very smooth to drink and attractive in the glass -- clear and a bright yellow. I'm not sure how to describe the aroma. I suppose it was the scent of gesho which had an exotic spice character to my nose. If there was a flaw, it was that the taste didn't linger much on the tongue.

I wish I'd thought to make notes at the time we were trying it. Guess I'll have to go back and buy another bottle....

 

[dave_witt]

Last night, I opened a bottle of Tej from Montezuma Winery in Seneca Falls, NY. Montezuma does a variety of meads most of which I haven't been too impressed with. The sweeter meads tend to be too sweet for me and the dry meads taste too young. I think the tej is a new product. It's not listed on their website and I don't recall ever seeing it at the winery before. This is the only example of a tej that I've ever had.

Have you tried Earle Estates? They're also local to the Finger Lakes, and I've liked their traditional. If I remember correctly, it was a bit off-dry that tasted as good as anything that sat for a year before bottling.

 

[skunkboy]

Wonder why they got the plants to make tej with?

 

[crowquill]

Have you tried Earle Estates?

Once. I found them much too sweet for my tastes but it's been awhile. I should try it again.

 

[akueck]

Wonder why they got the plants to make tej with?

A local (for me at least) Ethiopian grocer sells gesho leaves (as kind of a powder) and bark (sticks). They ship, so you can get them anywhere! It is called Brundo.

 

[dave_witt]

Once. I found them much too sweet for my tastes but it's been awhile. I should try it again.

I might have found a different batch than you--if I remember correctly, they sell different styles.

 

[skunkboy]

A local (for me at least) Ethiopian grocer sells gesho leaves (as kind of a powder) and bark (sticks). They ship, so you can get them anywhere! It is called Brundo.

Cool, I will to look for these locally, I'm SE Michigan has some Ethiopian markets. Now which honey would work best for this? I'm guessing a fairly tame wildflower...