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. These typically include barley or teff. Depending on region, wheat, sorghum, or corn may be used; spices can also be added. Dried and ground shiny-leaf buckthorn leaves are used for fermentation. The drink is made in a clay pot. The pot is washed with a plant called grawa. After rinsing it is smoked with weyra or Abyssinian rose. The alcohol content of tella is usually around 2–4 volume percent.
Tella is often home-brewed. It may be offered in tella houses (tellabet) or served in the home. In urban areas, the drink is used on special occasions like holidays or weddings.
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.
See also
- The Tigrayan Siwa (beer) culture
- Tej, an Ethiopian and Eritrean honey wine
- List of Ethiopian dishes and foods
- Eritrean cuisine
References
- ^ 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.
- "Home page". EnatTella. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ "Traditional Tella". Slow Food. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ 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.
- 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) - Marks, Gil (1996). The World of Jewish Cooking. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 100, 273. ISBN 9780684835594.
External links
- Ethnomed Ethiopian foods
- T’alla Tell-All - Ethiopian Food
- Traditional Alcoholic Beverages from Ethiopia, LISSANonline.com
- Boozing it up in Ethiopia, GADLING.com
- On Tella, the Ethiopian beer, in .pdf format
 | This Ethiopian cuisine–related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This Eritrea-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This beer or brewery-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |