Tella

For other uses, see Tella (disambiguation).
Teff and sorghum, Tella grains

Tella or talla (Amharic ጠላ; Oromo: farsoo, Tigrinya: siwa) is a traditional beer from Ethiopia. It is brewed from various grains, which can change depending on location.[1][2] These typically include barley or teff. Depending on region, wheat, sorghum, or corn may be used; spices can also be added.[1][3] Dried and ground shiny-leaf buckthorn leaves are used for fermentation.[4] The drink is made in a clay pot. The pot is washed with a plant called grawa.[3] After rinsing it is smoked with weyra[3] or Abyssinian rose.[1] The alcohol content of tella is usually around 2–4 volume percent.[4]

Tella is often home-brewed.[5][3] It may be offered in tella houses (tellabet) or served in the home.[3] In urban areas, the drink is used on special occasions like holidays or weddings.[4]

Tella was commonly used for kiddush by the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews). Tella was used because wine was often unavailable. Due to the availability of wine in Israel, Ethiopian-Israelis generally use wine for kiddush instead of tella.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Lee, Mooha; Regu, Meron; Seleshe, Semeneh (September 2015). "Uniqueness of Ethiopian traditional alcoholic beverage of plant origin, tella". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 2 (3): 110–114. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2015.08.002. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Home page". EnatTella. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Traditional Tella". Slow Food. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Birhanu, Asamnew Maru; Teferra, Tadesse Fikre; Lema, Tesfu Bekele (November 2021). "Fermentation Dynamics of Ethiopian Traditional Beer (Tella) as Influenced by Substitution of Gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) with Moringa stenopetala: An Innovation for Nutrition". International Journal of Food Science: 1–10. doi:10.1155/2021/7083638. PMC 8627356. PMID 34845435.
  5. ^ By Pamela Goyan Kittler, Kathryn P. Sucher, Marcia Nelms (22 Aug 2011). Food and Culture. Cengage Learning. p. 202.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Marks, Gil (1996). The World of Jewish Cooking. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 100, 273. ISBN 9780684835594.