Tej

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An azmari (Ethiopian minstrel) playing a masenqo in a tejbeit. Several berele glasses with tej lie on the table.

Tej is a mead or honey wine brewed and consumed in Ethiopia. It is flavored with the powdered leaves and bark of gesho, a hops-like bittering agent which is a species of buckthorn.

A sweeter, less-alcoholic version called berz, aged for a shorter time, is also made. The traditional vessel for drinking tej is a rounded vase-shaped container called a berele, which looks like a Florence flask. Tej has a deceptively sweet taste that masks its high alcohol content, which varies greatly according to the length of fermentation.

Tej is usually homemade, but throughout Ethiopia it is available in tejbeits (literally, "tej houses", or pubs). The best tej is, by common agreement, made in Lalibela, whose bees are reputed to make the sweetest honey.^{[citation needed]}