Green Rooibos: From Crop to Cup

GREEN ROOIBOS: FROM CROP TO CUP

Carmién Tea is not only renowned for being a marketer and exporter of Rooibos but as one of the only brands that are the producer, processor, and marketer/exporter. Carmién supplies Rooibos tea directly from the farm in South Africa as we are based in the unique Rooibos region (60 000 ha), the only place in the world where Rooibos tea can be grown. This offers our customers full traceability from cup to crop and enables us to fully commit to environmentally safe farming methods.

In May 2021 Rooibos became the first African food to receive the status of Geographical Indication (GIs), Regulation (EU)No 1151/2012, granting it the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Sixteen regions within the Western and Northern Cape of South Africa are the only regions where Rooibos can be grown and be called Rooibos Tea. Carmién Tea guarantees Rooibos from these certified origins.

Green Rooibos tea has a slightly sweet, distinct green (grassy) taste, with a smooth enjoyable mouthfeel and flavor profile. Unlike Camellia Sinensis Green teas, Green Rooibos tea is low in astringency and has a calming effect. Green Rooibos is very distinctive for its light orange to yellow cup infusion.

Green Rooibos is unfermented Rooibos. It consists of green needle-like leaves which are harvested during the winter months, carefully handled, and immediately dried to stay green. When cutting the Rooibos leaves, the plant cells are broken which activates the plant phenolic activity, automatically starting the fermentation process. To ensure that this natural process is stopped completely, the leaves are dried by hot air in a closed unit as soon as possible after cutting. This ensures a high-quality Green Rooibos with optimum phenolic content, low moisture content, and excellent control of microbial activities to prevent any discolouring of the green leaves, giving a longer storage time.

Our highly technologically advanced Green Rooibos factory was built in 2018 on our shareholder farm, Bergendal, and has consistently been processing the finest Green Rooibos since then.