Ultimate T’ej

Written By Bray Denard, PhD

Disclaimer: This recipe is for personal use only.

Mead Master’s Note

T’ej has been served in Ethiopia since at least 3000 BC. It is an ancient beverage that is still served in T’ej houses. Often, the T’ej served in these establishments is subpar because ancient mead-making practices are still in use. Gesho sticks are added to honey water and wild fermentation occurs. This yields mixed results.

For years now, I’ve been perfecting my own modern-day T’ej recipe. I thought I had fully perfected the mead, but I decided that I needed to attempt to further improve the recipe to be worthy of a You to Brew box. Ultimately, I decided an African tea called Honeybush could add a nice spice note to the T’ej in addition to gesho flavors. I was truly amazed at how much the mead was improved!

I enjoy this mead straight out of the cold crashed fermentor. It often doesn’t make it to a bottle. I don’t bother stabilising it because it doesn’t last that long! (If you bottle, please do stabilise for safety).

For a truly authentic experience, create some Ethiopian dishes that pair beautifully with Ultimate T’ej.

Enjoy!

Mead Specifications

Batch Size - 5 litres
ABV - 16%
Starting Gravity (SG) - 1.135
Final Gravity (FG) - 1.015
Style - Metheglin

Ingredients

Spice Blend

  • Gesho enchet - 28g

  • Honeybush tea - 19.8g

Must Preparation

  1. To a sanitised seven-litre bucket, add the wildflower honey, first dose of Fermaid O, potassium carbonate, and Fermaid K.

  2. Add 2.5 litres of water. We highly suggest using bottled water to avoid chloramines found in tap water.
    Do not use distilled water.

  3. Mix until all the honey is dissolved.

  4. Add water until slightly shy of the five-litre mark.

  5. Add the spices from the spice blend to the bucket.

Yeast Preparation

  1. Remove Wyeast 1388 packet from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

  2. Burst the internal nutrient packet in the Wyeast 1388 pouch.
    Tip: It helps to trap it in a corner before smacking it.

  3. Allow the packet to expand for at least 15 minutes. It should swell to demonstrate yeast activation.

  4. Sanitise the pouch corner that will be cut.

  5. Once the yeast and must are at similar temperatures, cut the corner off the pouch and pitch the yeast into the fermenter.
    Tip: Do not allow the yeast to sit for longer than 15 minutes.

Fermentation

  1. Store the bucket in a temperature range of 20-25°C. Around 22°C is best.

  2. Take a gravity reading every 3 days until the gravity reaches 1.015. (10-14 days)

  3. In order to reach the optimal amount of flavour infusion from the spice bag, we suggest keeping the mead in contact with the spices for at least 2 weeks before the next steps.

Stabilising

ULTIMATE T’EJ IS SUPPOSED TO BE CLOUDY. IT WILL NOT AND SHOULD NOT CLEAR!

  1. Rack off yeast cake into a sanitised demijohn. Remove the spice bag here.

  2. Add the potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite to the carboy and mix well. Allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours.
    Note: After stabilizing, there will be a harsh note resembling fusels in the mead for a few weeks. This is caused by the stabilizer and will age out as the stabilizer completes its protective purpose.

  3. Bottle into sanitized bottles.

Tips and Tricks

  1. Place your bucket into a larger container to contain any potential spill over from fermentation.

  2. If your home is cold, the top back of the fridge is great for keeping the fermentation warm.

  3. A spray bottle of diluted sanitiser is great for sanitising surfaces, especially hands.

  4. The first time you use a non-graduated bucket, add 5 litres at a time and draw a line for each.

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Bray Denard, PhD
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