Honeybush Tea Seeds - Cyclopia genistoides - Indigenous Medicinal

Cyclopia genistoides Seeds

Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) is indigenous to the cape of South Africa (1, 2). It is used to make a beverage and a medicinal tea, having a pleasant, mildly sweet taste and aroma, somewhat like honey. It has become internationally known as a substitute for ordinary tea (Camellia sinensis). With the dramatic growth in the use of honeybush during the past five years, export of honeybush tea products is now a major industry, following up on the success of another tea substitute from South Africa-rooibos.

To make the tea the stems and leaves are chopped into small pieces, wet and then left in heaps where they ferment spontaneously, They may be heated in an oven to about 60C - 70 C to enhance the process. After sufficient fermentation, the tea is spread out in the sun to dry. After sifting, it is ready for use. Honeybush tea, with its own distinct sweet taste and aroma, is made like ordinary tea, except that simmering enhances the flavour. Drinking honeybush tea is said to promote good health, stimulate the appetite, and the milk flow of lactating mothers.