Honeybush can be found on store shelves as a single ingredient green or black tea but is also used in natural body care ranges. It is used in scalp soothing and hair growth shampoos and conditioners as well as anti-ageing moisturisers.

Honeybush is prepared as a black tea by natural fermentation and drying.

There are at least 23 different subspecies of Honeybush with 5 of them listed as Critically Endangered or Possibly Extinct and 2 listed as Endangered by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

But it’s not all bad news: as demand for the plant continues to rise, farmers are cultivating Honeybush in increasing numbers.

Like rooibos, Honeybush is a legume meaning it has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria that enrich the soil.