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From Crop to Cup: Unveiling the Rooibos Journey
Ever wondered how your favorite cup of rooibos tea comes to be? Buckle up for a fascinating journey that starts with tiny seeds and ends up in your mug! Planting the Seeds of Goodness Our rooibos story begins between February and March, when seeds are sown. After a few months, the seedlings find their permanent…
From Crop to Cup: Carmién Tea’s Commitment to Quality and Sustainability
Carmién Tea isn’t your average rooibos brand. We’re not just a seller, we’re the whole package: cultivator, processor, packager, and exporter. This means you get your rooibos directly from the source – our rooibos farms are based in South Africa’s unique Cederberg region, one of the few places on Earth where rooibos thrives. Here’s what…
Chai & Rooibos
Our rooibos teas are naturally functional due to the nourishing, enriching ingredient rooibos is on its own. Honouring tea rituals internationally, we found that an equally beneficial ingredient (or rather, ingredients) is chai! What about chai tea is so enriching? Here are five health benefits when incorporating chai spices into a tea: chai spices such…
Rainforest Alliance & Rooibos
The Rainforest Alliance certificate carries a lot of weight in the Food & Beverage industry. It has become an international insignia of sustainability, due to the initiatives centered round the mascot – a rare, red-eyed tree frog which is native to a protected region within the Rainforest Alliance. The Rainforest Alliance (from hereon referred to…
Rooibos sterilisation machinery
As to ensure all cogs of a machine function well, we can attribute the success from our company not only to our employees, but to the actual machines we use for processing and sterlising! We offer full traceability of our products, right down to the day it was processed. The rooibos product undergoes the following…
What’s the ‘tea’ differences? Tisanes & Tea
The talk about tea is now hotter than the cuppa you’ve brewed itself. As a fast-moving essential product, tea-drinkers around the globe have countless ways about their tea rituals. Many of whom find rooibos a foreign concept with a common question which we hope to answer: what exactly is the difference between black, green, and…
Rooibos Flavour Profile
It’s the time of year where we undergo our favourite activity, which is rooibos harvesting. Now, a crucial synergy between temperature, the elements, and time play a role in the harvest’s yield. We look forward to see combination of hand-picked and machine-supported cutting, fermentation, and oxidization of rooibos. This to many, seems like repetitive chores…
News from the Farm: January 2024
Our News From The Farm this month is one that excites us to the core – our rooibos harvest is finally upon us! According to our farm personnel, our harvest this year is beautiful, yet the yield is slightly less, because of dry conditions and no rain from after the spot rain and floods in…
What is the hype around rooibos?
Rooibos (aspalathis linearis) is a bushy, herbal plant that grows indigenous to the Cederberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa. Its origin predates societies of tea drinkers by centuries, as its naturally replenishing qualities were discovered by the Khoi-San tribes before recorded historians first took note of its expansive litany of benefits in 1772.…
Seasons greetings from Mientjie Mouton
Our festive greetings to all – especially those that love the red theme of Christmas and follow it through drinking the delights of rooibos! As the responsibilities of the year as well countless workers enter their much-anticipated vacations, we are faced with an undeniably exciting fact that all can share enthusiasm for – the end…
Rooibos processing and packaging
The first growth of rooibos starts sprouting between the worked farmlands after the final of our various cuts, are processed. An exceptionally busy time on our farm allows for another consistent year of high-quality, delicious rooibos. Our next expected harvest is anticipated to be an incredibly vibrant, red haul due to the weather conditions from…
Global Beverage Trends
According to Finlays, the notion most felt in recent Global Beverage Trends is that consumers “treat themselves, coupled with concern for their health, and that of the planet, is driving the trend toward conscious consumerism,” (Finlays, 2023). With this in mind, household product producers have been seeing a gradual increase in necessity shopping. For us…
News from the Farm – September 2023
The Western Cape is experiencing its most unusual September in history and continuing rain and flooding has impacted most farming communities. Repairs are hardly completed when we are hit by another drench of rain. Newly planted Rooibos seedlings thrive on regular nourishing rain and hot, sunny days – which has been rather scarce – so…
August News from The Farm
While flood repairs are coming the end, weather patterns in the Western Cape remain unsettled, almost as if winter and summer are in disagreement, constantly fighting for control which has made it a difficult planting season. Although there has been so much rain, it is actually a dry season. The heavy downpours drain away quickly…
Rooibos MTB by Carmién
Bright red banners led the way as the Rooibos MTB by Carmién event kicked off its maiden race on a super cold morning up on the Piekenierskloof Mountain Pass. The brave, the fearless, the inquisitive, the dedicated workers and organisers, and spectators were there, huddled in tents or around open drum fires sipping the now…
News from the Farm
NEWS FROM THE FARM The excessive June rains that have left the village of Citrusdal stranded without access for days, have caused several challenges in the management of our Rooibos schedules for this time of the year; not only in the planting of seedlings for the new season, as they would have been washed away…
News from the Farm: June 2023
A freezing cold winter has hit the Western Cape with a vengeance and power outages and flooding remain the order of the day. Citrusdal, often cited as the gateway to the Rooibos region, seemed central to the floods of heaven with the road that leads into the village being swept away and the bridge left…
The Versatility of Green Rooibos
Rooibos and green rooibos share many health benefits and ongoing research continues to astound us with new findings regarding its health benefits. Green rooibos has a higher polyphenol content than fermented Rooibos and therefore higher antioxidant levels. It is naturally caffeine-free and known to relieve allergies, sleep disorders, digestive problems, headaches and more. Being kilojoule and preservative free it is also ideal…
News from the farm
The latest updates, direct from the farm. Rainforest Alliance Program Carmién Tea (Pty)Ltd and our subcontracted processing plant, Bergendal Rooibos (Pty)Ltd are proud to be part of the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program. This seal is your guarantee that our certified product, Rooibos, was produced using methods that support the three pillars of sustainability: social,…
Why Rooibos is good for your garden
Much has been said about the multiple health benefits of Rooibos or ‘red bush’ tea, derived from the unique herbal shrub native to the Western Cape region of South Africa, but its benefits and uses stretch way beyond just human health and enjoyment. As summer now draws to a close in South Africa we are…
Frequently Asked Questions about Rooibos
We answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding rooibos. Do Carmién Tea supply bulk Rooibos and packaged products? All our products are available in bulk bags, vacuum packed or boxed, then packed on pallets and wrapped, ready to be delivered to clients across the globe. Bulk products include Rooibos, Honeybush, Buchu, Hoodia, Dried…
News from the Farm: January 2023
January is synonymous with rooibos harvesting, clearing the tea fields of unwanted weeds and cleaning all the machinery that will be used during harvesting. Scorching hot days make it very uncomfortable for workers to clean the fields. While some cooling rain in December brought relief and a last growth boost for the rooibos plants, it…
Carmién Tea expands to the USA
Carmién Tea, direct from the farm, is now available right on your doorstep in the U.S. 2021 saw significant increase in our USA footprint, building on the vision to see our own brand, Carmién Tea, on retail shelves in well-known retailers across the USA. To achieve this we approached the entrepreneurial, Texas based, brokerage and…
Private Label Offering
The growing demand for private label in South Africa reflects the trust that has been built with customers in favour of private label. At the same time, the demand for private label rooibos blends corresponds with the increasing awareness of rooibos tea and its multiple health benefits, plus a greater prioritization of self-care and healthy…
Khoi and San TK Levy Payout
The indigenous Khoi and San people of South Africa, the first people who used the rooibos plant as a tea, signed a groundbreaking agreement with the South African government whereby they will benefit from the commercialisation of Rooibos. As of 2019 a levy of 1.5% of the farm gate price of all rooibos tea is…
News from the Farm – August 2022
It is planting season on the farm which means rain is first and foremost on our minds. There has been very little rain which is disconcerting. Late rain not only prevents the newly planted seedlings to settle and thrive but also results in the seedlings still at the nurseries becoming too established to successfully replant…