A Natural History Rooibos meaning literally red bush in Afrikaans is made from a centuries old and much respected South African herb, Aspalathus linearis. It grows only in the stunning Cederberg Mountains in the Western Cape, and is best known for its fine needle like leaves from which the tea is made. Rooibos started its life as a wild plant and it is quite amazing that it was ever discovered and made into the exquisite tea that we know today. It is one of the few plants that has made the transition from the wild to a commercially cultivated crop; you can still see wild rooibos bushes growing at the side of the road. Our rooibos tea plants remain as they have always been, never modified or subjected to hybridisation, indeed many of the farms continue to allow indigenous wild plants and flowers to grow amongst the rows of rooibos, so maintaining a more natural and ecologically sound environment. Little is known about the early history of rooibos only that it has been used for many centuries by the indigenous Khoisan tribes, primarily, it is believed as a herbal medicine. They used a process thought to have been copied from Malay slaves, but they were the first to harvest the wild plants, chopping them with axes, bruising them with hammers and leaving them to ferment in heaps before drying them in the sun. The tea is produced in the same way today, although much of the process is now mechanised. The tea is still dried under the African sun in vast yards, before being sucked into special vacuums for further purification. The tea is then sorted and graded according to length, colour and flavour. This guarantees you uniform standards of high quality and the superior taste of rooibos. We purchase only the finest grades of rooibos, which are specially blended for us in Clanwilliam, South Africa. Cederberg Mountains, South Africa. next »