Honey
Honey is a bee-made food from floral nectar or honeydew; breads use it in dough or as a syrup served with cooked griddle breads.
Modern method
Tej (Ethiopian honey wine)
Tej · T'ej
An Ethiopian honey wine made here as a controlled laboratory formulation with honey, water, a mixed bacterial-and-yeast starter, and gesho.
A laboratory formulation, not one household standard
Tej is an Ethiopian honey wine. A 2025 study describes traditional batches as variable and commonly made with honey, water and gesho; it also notes that vat-conditioning plants and producer practices differ.
The preparation on this page records one controlled research formulation using selected lactic acid bacteria and yeast. The study's protocol is distinguishable from spontaneous household preparations, and it should not be read as a universal Tej method.
The researchers collected traditional Tej from established producers in Debre Markos, Finote Selam and Bure, in Amhara Region. Those places document the sample sources. The paper does not claim the experimental starter recipe was invented or traditionally prepared in any one of them.
What the experiment specifies
For its T5 flask batch, the study used 250 g honey, 500 mL sterile distilled water and a 5% mixed starter of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L6 with Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y6. T5 received the highest overall acceptability score in the study's panel; that result is a sensory observation, not evidence of safety.
The mixture fermented for three days before researchers added 10 g sterile gesho. They then fermented it for 15 more days at ambient temperature and filtered through sterile muslin.
The article reports a 1 L flask and aluminum-sheet cover. It does not supply a numerical ambient temperature for the later stage or a numerical temperature for the first stage. It also does not report finished yield, an alcohol result for this batch or a consumer endpoint.
Safety and evidence limits
The paper identifies Tej as alcoholic but gives no alcohol concentration for this particular formulation. Do not infer strength from its 18-day schedule.
The protocol is a laboratory experiment using selected cultures and sterile materials. The paper does not validate it as a household preservation process and gives no finished-product storage period.
The honey treatment in the article is part of the experimental method; it is not presented here as proof that every hazard is controlled. The study's use of sterile water, gesho and muslin also does not establish a complete home safety procedure.
History
The 2025 paper describes Tej as an Ethiopian household alcoholic beverage whose traditional production varies by producer, and studies samples from established producers in three Amhara towns. Its mixed-starter flask protocol is a recent controlled research formulation; no earliest historical attestation is established here.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
HoneyPasteurized as specified in the study's laboratory protocol.
250 g
Sterile distilled waterStudy's laboratory dilution water.
500 mL
Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L6One member of the T5 mixed starter; the source gives 5% mixed starter, not a separate household measure.
Amount not stated
part of 5% LAB and yeast suspension; internal proportion not statedSaccharomyces cerevisiae Y6One member of the T5 mixed starter; the source gives 5% mixed starter, not a separate household measure.
Amount not stated
part of 5% LAB and yeast suspension; internal proportion not statedGesho (Rhamnus prinoides)Sterile, added after the first three fermentation days.
10 g
Method
Risks and precautions · Elevated risk
Alcoholic fermentation with unreported finished strength
The paper identifies Tej as an alcoholic beverage but does not report an alcohol concentration for this 18-day laboratory batch; strength cannot be inferred from elapsed time.
Hazard sourceProcess not validated for household safety
This is a controlled research formulation using selected mixed cultures and sterile inputs, not a validated household preservation process; the paper gives no consumer endpoint or storage duration.
Hazard sourceThe researchers used pasteurized honey, sterile distilled water, a sterile gesho addition and sterile muslin in the laboratory protocol. These details describe the experiment; they do not establish a complete safety control for household production.
Control sourceThis is an alcoholic drink; its strength is not given for this batch.
Do not treat the study's honey pasteurization step or the 18-day schedule as a validated safety endpoint or shelf-life instruction.
- Prepare this only as a record of the published laboratory formulation. The authors used a 1 L flask, sterile distilled water, sterile gesho and sterile muslin; this is not a validated household process.
- Pasteurize 250 g honey at 62.5°C for 15 minutes, the treatment used in this experiment. The study does not establish this as a general safety control for home production.
- Mix the honey with 500 mL sterile distilled water in a 1 L flask. For the study's T5 formulation, inoculate with its Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L6 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y6 mixed starter at 5% and cover the flask tightly with aluminum sheet.
- Ferment for three days. The paper does not specify a numerical temperature for this fermentation stage.
- Add 10 g sterile gesho, cover again with sterile aluminum sheet, and ferment for 15 further days at ambient temperature. The paper gives no numerical ambient-temperature range.
- Filter through sterile muslin to remove the gesho and sediment. The paper does not report a consumer endpoint, shelf life, or validated storage procedure.
Conditions
Fermentation18 days
Places
Debre Markos
Documented use · Locality evidenceOne of three Amhara towns where researchers sampled Tej from established producers; the paper does not say its laboratory formulation originated here.
Finote Selam
Documented use · Locality evidenceOne of three Amhara towns where researchers sampled Tej from established producers; the paper does not say its laboratory formulation originated here.
Bure
Documented use · Locality evidenceOne of three Amhara towns where researchers sampled Tej from established producers; the paper does not say its laboratory formulation originated here.
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Sources
Scientific Reports / PubMed CentralMethod · Ingredients · Geography · History · Safety
Production of improved Ethiopian Tej using mixed lactic acid bacteria and yeast starter culturesTraditional Tej is described as an Ethiopian alcoholic beverage commonly made at household level from honey, water and gesho, with production variation among producers.
Researchers collected 30 traditional Tej samples from producer and vending houses in Debre Markos, Finote Selam and Bure in Amhara Region; these are sampling locations, not a claimed origin for the laboratory formulation.
Laboratory formulation: 250 g honey pasteurized at 62.5°C for 15 minutes plus 500 mL sterile distilled water in a 1 L flask, inoculated with 5% LAB and yeast suspension.
After three days, 10 g sterile gesho was added; the flask fermented 15 more days at ambient temperature, then was filtered through sterile muslin.
The article does not provide a numerical ambient temperature, alcohol strength for this batch, validated consumer endpoint or storage duration.
T5, the mixed starter formulation receiving the highest overall acceptability score, used Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L6 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y6.
Cited in: A laboratory formulation, not one household standard; What the experiment specifies; Safety and evidence limits