Honeybush Tea is indigenous to South Africa and specifically found close to the Fynbos areas in the Western – and Eastern Cape. There are more than 20 different Honeybush Tea species and each of them favours very specific environmental conditions to thrive. Thus, some species require cooler weather, with nearby sea breezes to flourish, as in the case of C. genistoides (kustee, “coastal tea”). Other species, like C. intermedia (bergtee, “mountain tea”) prefer a cold environment high up on southern mountain slopes, where snow and fog occur regularly.
There are still areas where Honeybush Tea can be harvested in the wild, as well as organic certified farmers and processing plants that do this in a proper responsible and sustainable manner. However, all our tea is harvested from our own sustainable source and not from any source in the wild; a measure which contributes to the conservation of the natural genetic diversity of C. genistoides. All these carefully considered decisions regarding harvesting, planting, breeding and processing of Honeybush Tea are meant to contribute to our sustainable and organic farming practises without any compromises.
It is our mission to strive towards farming as close to nature as possible. Our Honeybush Tea fields are rich in biodiversity of different Fynbos species. Honeybush Tea thrives between Fynbos because it is a Fynbos species. It thus grows in an environment where it would have been found if it grew in the wild.
Annual alien vegetation clearing efforts keep our Honeybush Tea fields free from alien vegetation that has a detrimental effect in our whole area. These negative effects of these alien vegetation species include a die-off of natural Fynbos, decreased indigenous biodiversity, a lower water table, an increased seed bed of alien vegetation seeds, destruction of the natural entomological – and flora health.