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The superb taste that lovers of African Dawn Rooibos enjoy, celebrates the end of a long journey – one that originates in the fertile soil of the Groenkol estate in the Clanwilliam region and years later finds completion in the cup.

All along this journey, quality travels as a faithful companion…

Rooibos – Afrikaans for ‘red bush’ – derives its name from the fine, needle-like leaves of the plant, which turn red during the fermentation process.

As its Latin name (Aspalathus Linearis) indicates, rooibos belongs to the uniquely South African Aspalathus plant group, which is part of the legume family. Rooibos is the only one of more than 200 other species belonging to the group that has economic value.

Had it not been for the ingenuity of the indigenous people of the Cedarberg mountains, rooibos would have escaped the world’s attention and vanished into obscurity as just another mountain bush.

The shrub-like plant consists of a central main stem of smooth bark. Near the soil surface it subdivides into various equally strong offshoots, followed by thin, flimsy side branches. These bear thin, sharp, soft, needle-like leaves of approximately 10 mm in length, singly or in bunches. In its natural state, the growth height of the plant varies from 1 to 1,5 m. The height of the harvested plant is subject to numerous variables (including age, climate and soil conditions of the production area), allowing it to vary between 0,5 to 1,5 m.

Rooibos thrives in a winter rainfall production area, yet its active growth only starts in spring, peaking towards midsummer and then declines. October usually sees the plant covered in tiny, yellow, pea-shaped flowers. Every one of these in turn produces a small legume containing a single, light yellow, hard shelled, dicotyledonous seed. Each of these is of miniature size, but of precious worth.

Every legume bears only a single seed, which pops open and shoots out as soon as it has sufficiently ripened. Rooibos seed used to be extremely expensive before it was discovered that ants avidly collect them. Some farmers today still gather seed from anthills, but it is more commonly retrieved by sifting the sand around the seedling plants.

Being hardshelled by nature, the seed is scrubbed by mechanical scourers to increase its germination potential from approximately 25 - 30% to 85 - 95%. Once treated with fungicides and insecticides, the seed is ready to be sown.

One kilogram of seed yields on average between 6 and 10 hectares of plantation, depending on whether the seed is directly sown into the ground, or whether seedlings are first cultivated in a nursery and then transplanted into the plantation.

The First Year:

February: seed is sown into beds.

July/August: seedlings from the nursery are transplanted into the tea plantations.

The Second Year:

May: bushes are cut down to 30 cm above ground level to attain a uniform height.

TheThird Year:

January – March: only 18 months after the sowing/transplation phase, the tea is ready to be harvested.

Harvesting subsequently continues during this period for the following 3-4 years, after which the plant’s lifespan ends.