Commonly referred to as "gesho" it was first scientifically described by French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.

[2] Rhamnus prinoides occur from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya to South Africa at medium to high altitudes.

The stems are boiled and the extract mixed with honey to ferment a mead called tej in Amharic and myes in Tigrinya.

Finger millet (or sorghum and maize flour regionally) are baked, and finally mixed with the fermented solution.

After 1–2 days of fermentation, the tella can be filtered and consumed in a drink locally called guesh (tsiray in Tigrinya).