The Dutch farmers who built their homesteads in this wild region were so isolated that they learnt how to make a rough brewed tea from the shrubs in the area. Early 19th century travellers mention the general use of a wild bush to make a tea infusion in the Langkloof area in the Outeniqua mountains. Today honeybush still grows wild in the area.

The Caspa Tea Company, an old Ginsberg-family company, was the original purveyor of honeybush, selling to the American and European markets as early as 1906. In the 1980s other companies in South Africa became interested in this unique tea.

Most honeybush is still collected in the wild, but there is now a serious problem caused by uncontrolled harvesting. At Dragonfly, as the pioneers of this wonderful tea, we only source from a single responsible farmer harvesting in the snow and mist belt, where the best tea is made. He is committed to conservation and sustainability, working under the guidelines and monitoring of the National Botanical Institute of South Africa.

Honeybush Blossom - photo courtesy of the National Botanical Institute, South Africa.

• History
• Production
• Perfection
• Enjoyment
• History of Rooibos
• History of Honeybush
• Afternoon Tea