Our mission is to improve the accessibility of high-quality teff while preserving and promoting it as a vital food crop.
For 40 years, we've been dedicated to bringing this ancient grain into kitchens across the United States. As a vertically integrated company, we’re hands‑on every step of the way—managing our own seedstock, maintaining direct relationships with our growers, and milling flour fresh each day to preserve teff’s natural flavor and nutrition. The end result is high‑quality teff flour and grain, just as nature intended—nourishing body and community while helping carry forward a tradition cultivated for generations.
In the 1970s, Maskal Teff co-founder Wayne Carlson lived as a guest in a small Ethiopian farming community. He soon discovered that while farmers grew many crops, they preferred teff—an ancient grain grown in Ethiopia and Eritrea for thousands of years. Traditionally milled into flour to make a fermented flatbread called injera, teff was at the center of every meal, every day. Immersed in the local culture, Wayne experienced firsthand how teff was not just a daily staple, but a deeply cherished part of life and tradition.
After his time in Ethiopia, Wayne eventually found himself in South Africa where he met his wife, Elisabeth. When the couple returned to the United States, they settled near Boise, Idaho. The region’s hot, dry summers reminded Wayne of Ethiopia’s climate. Feeling inspired, he decided to source teff seeds from the Washington State University-based USDA seed bank and plant them in their garden. The teff thrived.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants began arriving in the United States. Because teff was almost entirely unknown and not grown in the US, there was no way to prepare injera in the traditional way. Families had to make do with substitutes like wheat flour and even pancake mix, a compromise that underscored just how essential injera was to their culture and daily life.
Wayne enlisted the help of a few brave—though initially wary—farmers willing to give teff a try. To connect with potential customers, Elisabeth scoured phone books from the Washington, D.C. area, where many Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants had settled. Word of American-grown teff spread like wildfire. Together with their growers, they nurtured the first harvests and carefully milled the teff, making sure it was ready for families eager to cook with it once again.
Through curiosity, collaboration, communication, and the initiative to keep going, a business was born. What began as a backyard experiment soon grew into a shared effort to make high‑quality teff accessible across the United States. Maskal Teff continues to be owned and operated by the Carlson family and is the largest producer of teff in the United States. We work with growers throughout the Western US and distribute teff flour and grain nationwide.
Our Commitment
Our work with teff began as a way to help Ethiopian and Eritrean families in the United States reconnect with a cherished part of their culture. By listening, learning, and working alongside both farmers and customers, we discovered that teff could thrive in American soil and serve as a bridge between ancient traditions and new beginnings.
We honor teff’s tradition and heritage by cultivating it with care, preserving its authenticity, and sharing its story with new communities.
