Background
The complimentary nature of Tej and Ethiopian cuisine is a truism cast in stone that is comparable to pairings like burgers and fries. With this in mind, a cursory survey of the current Tej offerings, especially at the high-end of the limited spectrum, reveals obvious room for improvement. Commercial bottling of Tej is nothing new — even as far back as the late 40s an aspiring entrepreneur started bottling Tej in Addis Ababa under the brand name of Agew Medir. This was followed by another venture under the brand name of Saba Tej in the 60s. With the growth of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the western world and the increased global awareness of Ethiopian cuisine, several offerings of Tej followed.
However, the issue of consistency, quality and authenticity seemed to surface when discussing Tej offerings. This was the challenge that dragged me into this venture — to produce a repeatable high quality authentic premium Tej. I also lay claim to watching my mother brew some of the finest Tej while growing up — I know a thing or two about good quality Tej when I see/taste it. So, in early 2005 I approached a renowned wine maker in Livermore, California, to help me develop the required process and recipe to produce a consistently high quality authentic Tej. The effort resulted in two cases of prototype type dry Tej. The taste sampling that followed brought back encouraging and highly positive feedback.
Thus, a potential window of opportunity opened up to bring this offering to diners of Ethiopian cuisine at large. The subsequent quest for a suitable commercial bottling partner brought me to Michael Faul of Rabbit's Foot Meadery of Sunnyvale, winner of several awards at international mead competitions. With Mike's depth of experience in understanding the behavior of honey and mead making, we made some final adjustments to the original recipe/process and the result is simply amazing.
What's in a name?
The word Yamatt is a concatenation of the names of our two sons: Yared and Matias Tamrat. But also, in the age-old Amharic language tradition of Wax and Gold (a play on words with more than one meaning), Yamatt means mother-in-law's in Amharic (the wax). It also means two other things (the gold) but we will leave that to poetry class for now. Overall, I would say this is a win-win: the kids are happy and the wife's side of the family is happy too!
Serving suggestions:
Yamatt Tej is at its best when served slightly chilled in a red wine glass. Serving it ice cold seems to take away the "nose" from the full experience.
You may also try a Yamattini — mix together 2 parts Gin or Vodka, with 1 part Semi-Sweet or Dry Yamatt Tej with some ice and give it a whirl (shaken or stirred!). Enjoy with a twist of your favorite citrus peal.
Availability:
Yamatt Tej is available at most Ethiopian and Eritrean dining establishments in the Bay Area. It is also available at the following outlets:
Rabbit's Foot Meadery, http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com
1246 Birchwood Dr. Sunnyvale, CA 94089
(408) 747-0770
U and I Liquor, 4875 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609,
(510) 653-1772
Grand Perkins Market Place, 346 Grand Ave, Oakland CA 94610,
(510) 834-7505
One Stop Liquors & Groceries, 655 W Hamilton Ave, Campbell CA 95008 (408) 376-3997
For additional information contact us at: tej@yamatt.com or
(510) 796-5190
Did you know..?
Many different cultures point to beliefs of health and other benefits associated with the consumption of honey-based beverages. There was even an attempt made to establish scientific validation to the claims of its effect as an aphrodisiac: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/05/30/britain.mead/index.html