Harvest Spice

Often called cinnamon, cassia is a spice with a significantly different flavor profile than true cinnamon. Grown in subtropical climates, its taste varies widely by origin, and quality is judged by the volatile oil content. In Kerinci in Sumatra, cassia bark is stripped and dried year round from a revolving crop of 10 – 12 year old trees that are continuously replanted. Cassia is sweet, hot and spicy and adds fragrance to our chai blend.

Ginger, used in many cultures to enliven food and drink, is also known for its healthful qualities. A light stimulant, it can treat cold symptoms and sore throat. Ginger is cultivated most prominently in India, China, Indonesia and West Africa. After the plant flowers and the leaves die off, the roots are dug, washed, peeled and sun dried. Ginger’s spicy-sweet flavor adds spark and complexity to our Big Hibiscus.

Rooibos, also known as red bush, is perhaps the most tea-like and naturally caffeine-free beverage in the world. During the 20th Century, red bush went from being a mostly indigenous drink of South Africa to a global commodity and a cash crop for the Clanwilliam district. Rooibos is also known to be high in antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Similar to tea, rooibos generally undergoes an oxidation process after the leaves are cut, when it develops a uniquely sweet and creamy flavor, without the astringency of black tea. It is a common alternative to coffee or tea because it also stands up well to milk and sugar and can be served in various forms quite easily (hot, iced, lattes, etc.). Rooibos can also be steamed after being picked to stop the oxidation process, which will keep it as green rooibos, a more vegetal and floral flavor than the more common red rooibos.

Turmeric, part of the ginger family, is a flowering plant that has been coveted in India as a cooking spice, natural dye and medicinal herb for thousands of years. With its iconic vivid golden color, turmeric has a somewhat bitter and earthy flavor profile with notes of pepper, ginger and orange. There are many medicinal properties of turmeric and the vibrant ingredient has become widely recognized as a superfood in recent years.

With a soothing characteristic and a subtle taste and aroma that is apple-like and toasty, chamomile is one of the most popular herbal ingredients on the market.

Honeybush is an evergreen shrub, closely related to rooibos, that grows in the eastern Cape of South Africa. Although there have been attempts at cultivating and farming honeybush, most species are found and harvested in nature, also known as wildcrafting. The slender leaves, stems and flowers are hand cut and then allowed to oxidize in the sun. Honeybush is known to be high in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, similar to rooibos. As the name implies, it has a distinctly honey-like aroma. Naturally caffeine-free, honeybush has notes of peach, cedar and sweetgrass, with a pinkish golden hue in the cup.

Cloves come from the dried flower of a subtropical evergreen tree that can grow to heights of 40 feet in Madagascar, Southern India, and Indonesia. Dried in the sun, these buds become their signature dark reddish black. Cloves are highly aromatic and are used in mulling spices, cooking, and enlivening various tea blends.