Equal Exchange Organic Rooibos Tea 40 Tea Bags

The first Fairtrade Marked Rooibos, this tea is more than just 100% caffeine free! The natural vanilla and honey overtones will lift your spirit and your taste buds.

Fairtrade certified • Organic certified • Suitable for vegetarians

Who produces Organic Rooibos teabags?

The Heiveld Small Farmer Co-operative

The Heiveld Co-op was established to promote the sustainability of the livelihoods of its members.Fifty eight men and women from the community are currently members of the Co-op. They produce their tea proudly by hand, and make minimal use of machinery. Hand harvesting ensures a finer quality of tea, and is also kinder to the tea bushes than the mechanical harvesting practised on plantations.

Income from tea sales is distributed equitably, in a way that benefits the smallest scale producer, and also contributes to the economic independence of women.

Wuppertal Original Rooibos Co-operative

The remote community of Wuppertal, located west of the Cedarburg mountains in South Africa’s Cape province hoped that Fair Trade would provide some answers to isolation and economic insecurity. Regrettably the challenge of competing in the new Fair Trade markets against large well run plantations (also certified) proved too great.

Plantations, built and capitalised during Apartheid years had existing customer links which proved just too attractive to mainstream traders whilst the more remote small farmers were perceived to be too risky.

Wuppertal could not sell huge harvests following the end of the drought in 2008. Newly certified plantations entering the large markets across Europe and North America took all the business.

The Association split unable to sustain the large stocks of tea and subsequent payments to farmers.

Luckily, despite recriminations, new initiatives are emerging and community healing is underway. A new cooperative has emerged, it is the only Fairtrade and organic certified group in the community.