WHAT IS TEFF?
Teff is an ancient whole grain native to the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is one of the world’s earliest domesticated crops, with evidence of its cultivation dating back to around 4000 BCE. The name “teff” comes from the Amharic word teffa, meaning “lost,” a reference to its tiny, easily scattered seeds.
CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT
Teff has been at the center of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine for millennia. The grain is traditionally milled into flour and fermented over multiple days to make injera—a spongy, sour flatbread. For Ethiopian and Eritrean Americans today, teff injera remains at the center of family meals, cultural gatherings, and holiday celebrations.
NUTRIENT DENSE
Ancient whole grains like teff have remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. They retain their bran, germ, and endosperm in processing—providing essential minerals, vitamins, and whole grain flavor.
AGRICULTURALLY RESILIENT
Teff can thrive in hot temperatures, high altitudes, and marginal soils. Most notably, it is drought tolerant and requires less water than other cereal crops like wheat. Its resilience—and its ability to grow where other crops cannot—has helped sustain communities for centuries.
TEFF IS NOT A TREND
Maskal Teff has grown teff in the Western United States for more than forty years—a brief moment in the grain’s long agricultural history, but still well before ancient grains became a trendy marketing category. We have deep respect for the communities who have cultivated, cooked, and consumed teff for thousands of years and we believe this grain deserves to be understood on its own terms. Not as a fad.
