What Is Tella? The Ethiopian Home Brewed Beer Explained
Tella is a traditional Ethiopian home brewed beer made from grains such as barley or maize and gesho, a hops like plant. An alcoholic drink for adults over 18.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Tella is a traditional Ethiopian home brewed beer, an alcoholic drink made from roasted grains such as barley, maize or sorghum and gesho, a hops like plant that gives it a gentle bitterness. Cloudy, amber and lightly fizzy, it is low in alcohol but still alcoholic, so it is for adults over 18, and it is best enjoyed responsibly. Because it is brewed from grains and gesho it contains alcohol and gluten. In the UK the grains and gesho for tella are stocked by African food stores, which you can find near you on African Stores.
What to remember
- Tella is a traditional Ethiopian home brewed beer made from grains such as barley or maize and gesho.
- Gesho, a hops like plant, gives tella its gentle bitterness and helps the brew ferment.
- It is cloudy, amber and lightly fizzy, low in alcohol but still an alcoholic drink.
- It is brewed for holidays, weddings and gatherings and shared from a communal jug.
- Tella contains alcohol and gluten and is for adults over 18, so please always drink responsibly.
A cloudy jug of tella, tangy and smoky and gently fizzing, carries a whole world of home for Ethiopians and Eritreans in Britain. It is the beer of the wedding and the holiday, the batch brewed days ahead so no guest goes without, the vessel passed hand to hand around a crowded room. Sharing it far from home brings back the warm kitchens, the roasting grain and the taste of gesho that no shop bought beer quite matches.
There is quiet heritage in it too, in a beer brewed the same patient way for generations and poured whenever people gather to mark something or simply to welcome a friend. Offering someone their first cup of tella, or raising one with family who grew up on it, is a small act of welcome and pride. Enjoyed responsibly by adults over 18, that smoky, homely pour is a genuine taste of home.
What Tella Is
Tella is the everyday home brewed beer of Ethiopia and Eritrea, a cloudy, amber coloured drink with a smoky, tangy character and a gentle fizz. It is made from grains, most often barley, but also maize, sorghum, wheat or teff, which are roasted and ground before being fermented, and it is flavoured with gesho, a hops like plant whose dried leaves and twigs lend a soft, herbal bitterness. The roasting of the grains gives tella its distinctive toasty, faintly smoky taste, while the gesho balances the malty sweetness much as hops balance a Western beer. It is usually low in alcohol, though the strength varies from one household brew to the next, and it is served cloudy rather than clear, straight from the fermenting vessel.
Tella holds a warm place in Ethiopian and Eritrean food and drink, the homely, celebratory pour that so often accompanies a shared platter. It belongs to the wider world of injera, spiced stews and communal eating that we cover in our guide to Ethiopian food. Because it is brewed from grains and gesho, tella contains both alcohol and gluten, and like any alcoholic drink it is meant for adults over 18 and is best enjoyed in moderation.
How Tella Is Traditionally Brewed
Tella is traditionally brewed at home over a week or two, using grains, gesho and water and very little else. The grains are roasted, some quite darkly to deepen the colour and flavour, then ground and mixed with water and powdered gesho to begin fermenting. Ground malted grain, known as bikil, is often added to help the brew along, and the mixture is left in a covered clay or plastic vessel in a warm spot, stirred and tended as it slowly ferments and turns from a thick grain mash into a tangy, lightly fizzy beer. The longer it ferments, the drier and a little stronger it tends to become.
The choice of grain, the depth of the roast and the amount of gesho all shape the finished flavour, so no two household brews taste quite the same. Once it is ready the liquid is strained off from the grains and served cloudy, often from the same vessel it was brewed in. This is a description of how tella is traditionally made rather than a recipe to follow, and because the finished drink contains alcohol and is brewed from gluten grains, it is intended for adults over 18.
How Tella Is Shared and Enjoyed
Tella is above all a drink of hospitality and everyday celebration. It is brewed for weddings, religious feasts, holidays and family gatherings, and a large batch is often prepared in advance so there is plenty to share when guests arrive. It is typically poured into a rounded flask or drinking vessel and passed around, sipped slowly alongside a shared meal of injera and spiced stews, its smoky, tangy character sitting beautifully against rich, spiced food. In many homes and small local drinking houses it is the ordinary, welcoming beer that brings people together.
Because it is a home brew, tella can range from light and refreshing to noticeably more robust, and its strength is rarely fixed or measured. Whatever the batch, tella is an adult drink that contains alcohol and gluten, so it is one to enjoy slowly and responsibly. For anyone over 18 curious to try it, tella offers a warm, distinctive taste of Ethiopian and Eritrean hospitality, best enjoyed in good company and in moderation.
Where to Buy Tella Ingredients in the UK
Buying what you need for tella in Britain is done mainly through African food shops, especially Ethiopian and Eritrean grocers and the shops attached to Ethiopian restaurants. Bottled tella is uncommon on shop shelves, so most people who want it either enjoy it at an Ethiopian restaurant or gathering, where it may be served by the glass to adults over 18, or gather the ingredients to brew their own. The grains such as barley, maize and teff are widely stocked, and the one ingredient that really defines tella, gesho, is the item to seek out, as it is hard to substitute.
If you want to track down the grains and, crucially, the gesho to brew tella, an Ethiopian or Eritrean grocer is the natural place to start. You can find African food stores near you that stock Ethiopian and Eritrean ingredients, including gesho, in your area. Remember that tella is an alcoholic home brewed beer that also contains gluten, for adults over 18, so please enjoy it responsibly.
Frequently asked questions
What is tella?
Tella is a traditional Ethiopian home brewed beer, an alcoholic drink made from roasted grains such as barley, maize or sorghum and gesho, a hops like plant that gives it a gentle bitterness. It is cloudy, amber and lightly fizzy, and is closely associated with Ethiopia and Eritrea, where it is brewed at home for holidays and gatherings. As it is made from grains and gesho, it contains alcohol and gluten and is a drink for adults over 18.
What is tella made of?
Tella is made from roasted grains, most often barley but also maize, sorghum, wheat or teff, together with gesho, a hops like plant whose dried leaves and twigs add a gentle bitterness and help the brew ferment. The grains are roasted, ground and left to ferment with the gesho and water over a week or two, turning into a tangy, lightly fizzy beer. Because it is brewed from grains and gesho, it contains both alcohol and gluten.
Is tella alcoholic?
Yes, tella is an alcoholic home brewed beer for adults, made by fermenting roasted grains and gesho until it becomes a mildly alcoholic drink. It is usually low in alcohol, but its strength varies quite a lot from one household brew to the next, as it is made traditionally rather than to a fixed measure. Because it contains alcohol it is intended only for adults over 18, so please drink responsibly.
Does tella contain gluten?
Yes, tella is brewed from gluten grains such as barley, wheat, sorghum and teff, along with gesho, so it contains gluten and is not suitable for anyone avoiding it. It also contains alcohol, being a fermented beer, so it is a drink for adults over 18. Anyone with a gluten intolerance or coeliac disease should avoid tella, and this is general information rather than medical advice.
Where can I buy tella in the UK?
Bottled tella is uncommon in Britain, but some Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants and gatherings serve it by the glass to adults over 18, and the grains and gesho to brew your own are sold by Ethiopian and Eritrean grocers. African Stores lists African food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks the grains and gesho for tella. As tella is an alcoholic drink that also contains gluten, please buy and enjoy it responsibly.
