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T'ej Tej Taj , Does anyone here know how to make this Ethiopian mead?

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gunit00

NewBee
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Dec 19, 2015
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Hi Folks,

I am looking to make my first batch of T'ej. But I am unsure of which recipe to use. There are recipes that call for boiling the gesho inchet, some that call for only leaves, some that call for wild yeast, and other wine yeast. Also, how does it age over time? I have heard it can become sour. Is there a way to prevent this?

I have got 60lbs of orange blossom honey and a few pounds of gesho. I would love to hear your experienced advices.

Thanks~!
 
I made loveofrose's recipe, only used DAP and Fermaid K instead of O. It turned out amazing. I split half of it on steeped dried elderberries for about ten days, which turned out to be a good idea. The original has hints of banana for some reason. It's so smooth, with a nice hoppy finish. Starting a 3 gallon batch on Sunday.

Will Fermaid O make a noticeable difference? I haven't used it before.
 
Will Fermaid O make a noticeable difference? I haven't used it before.[/QUOTE]

I think if you use dap/k with a good protocol and things turn out good you may not notice a difference a year from now. I do think using "O" ends up drinkable much earlier. I have made a twin batch to compare them though. I started using "O" a a while back and I really like it. I think using Goferm Evolution and O is the very best one can do right now.

Maybe you could do an a/b batch and report to us your tasting notes as things develope. Someone should :)
 
loveofrose said:
This recipe turns out very well and there is no chance of souring because the gesho is boiled:
https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/tej-bomm/

It gets better with age, but is very good young as well.


Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html
Click to expand...

I noticed you did not boil it here : http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=528648 , did it turn sour?
 
If I had a chance to do it over, I probably would of used only cultured yeast. I did a combination of wild and cultured that turned out ok at the beginning. Much better with age. The sourness happens from time to time. Just add more honey for sweetness to balance. I have extra gesho and plan on doing a BOMM version. Well if you're curious about the au natural way, here's the youtube link https://youtu.be/O60_S25EoFI

The youtube video gives another link that goes into extensive detail on making and the history of Tej. http://www.pitt.edu/~kloman/tej.html
 
But traditionally, t'ej is not be made to age or store but is made to be consumed at the celebration or event it was made for - Souring is no more an issue for traditionally made t'ej than souring is a problem for milk. You make what you need. transforming t'ej into a less traditional drink - a wine not made for a specific event, a wine to be stored and consumed like any other wine in more mundane ways means that some of the methods used to make t'ej may need to be altered to preserve the flavor over longer periods of time.
 
bernardsmith said:
But traditionally, t'ej is not be made to age or store but is made to be consumed at the celebration or event it was made for - Souring is no more an issue for traditionally made t'ej than souring is a problem for milk. You make what you need. transforming t'ej into a less traditional drink - a wine not made for a specific event, a wine to be stored and consumed like any other wine in more mundane ways means that some of the methods used to make t'ej may need to be altered to preserve the flavor over longer periods of time.
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I understand this. But I would like to keep it for months or years without souring. So, yes, I will be diverging from the traditional. But let's be real. Ethiopia is a land of over 80 languages. To say that T'ej, today, is one thing would be that it's mead made with gesho. Anything more than than would be assuming the country is monolithic. T'ej is drunk is pubs and homes in Ethiopia. T'ej is not to be pigeonholed or exotified. It's a type of mead. So let's drink and enjoy.
 
gunit00 said:
I understand this. But I would like to keep it for months or years without souring. So, yes, I will be diverging from the traditional. But let's be real. Ethiopia is a land of over 80 languages. To say that T'ej, today, is one thing would be that it's mead made with gesho. Anything more than than would be assuming the country is monolithic. T'ej is drunk is pubs and homes in Ethiopia. T'ej is not to be pigeonholed or exotified. It's a type of mead. So let's drink and enjoy.
Click to expand...

No disagreement from me, gunit00,. I use 71B when I make t'ej. BUT I also know that I am appropriating something from another culture much like Europeans appropriated tobacco from the Native Americans and treated something sacred as if it were mundane.. and treated something that cemented social relationships as if it were a commodity to be sold in the market. We are very good at that - while we are much less good at understanding other cultures from whom we simply take what we want simply because we can...
 
bernardsmith said:
No disagreement from me, gunit00,. I use 71B when I make t'ej. BUT I also know that I am appropriating something from another culture much like Europeans appropriated tobacco from the Native Americans and treated something sacred as if it were mundane.. and treated something that cemented social relationships as if it were a commodity to be sold in the market. We are very good at that - while we are much less good at understanding other cultures from whom we simply take what we want simply because we can...
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Going beyond your assumption that I do not understand the history of T'ej and that I am a westerner.

Cultural appropriation? That is a slippery slop. You know that nearly everything has links to appropriation. From the land we lay on to the $7 burritos we scoff down. It is human to appropriate. I think the advent of consumer based capitalism has eroded the historical significance of these appropriations. Taking what we want...because we can....Well, are you familiar of how countries are created? Or how borders are drawn? They are taken.

You are articulating your guilt when making T'ej. But you are not doing any justice to addressing your supposed concern. Please save the guilt. I am interested in the process of making consistently good T'ej that stores well. If you want to drop some historical knowledge, I am all ears. But no guilt please.
 
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There's a beer version of Tej that I would seriously think about doing a braggot BOMM version of. Also, lots of food recipes to complement your Tej if you're interested in spicy eats.


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
pokerfacepablo said:
Yep, otherwise it isn't Bray's One Month Mead. Speaking of historical notes, did you check out the second link I posted?

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Got ya. Yes, I have did a fair amount of research before making this thread.Harry Kolman's site is the first google result when anyone searches for Tej. I even have his book, Mesob Across America: Ethiopian Food in the U.S.A.
 
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