The Rise of Fine-Tea

WORDS Ann Ellis-Brown

If our mad hurtle into the technological age was fuelled by coffee, the rise of fine-tea appreciation is an acknowledgement that we have to make time to slow down.

• Yswara is a producer and retailer of high-quality African tea and accessories. Fans include actress Lupita Nyong’o. Founder Swaady Martin notes South Africans’ loyalty to rooibos: “In Southern Africa, our rooibos blends are the most popular, whereas in West and Central Africa hibiscus blends fly off the shelves.”
• Jessica Bonin, the founder of Lady Bonin’s Teas, likes her oolong “steeped for 2 to 3 minutes in 80 ºC water in a cast-iron teapot. She first sold tea from a caravan before she launched the successful Lady Bonin’s Tea Bar on Long Street in Cape Town, and plans on launching more such bars around the country.
• “Our teas are grown above the sea of clouds, surrounded by large trees and beautiful fresh breezes,” says Mingwei Tsai of Nigiro Tea Merchants when he describes Ali Mountain in Taiwan, where his favourite oolong tea originates. Mingwei prefers his tea made “in traditional terracotta teapots with stories told by the elders, stories of life and connection to the people and nature”.
• Grant Rushmere, founder of Bos Ice Tea, ascribes the rising tea culture to its varied health benefits: “Tea represents calm and reflection – a significant quality in the world we live in today. Rooibos is endemic only to a 100 km radius in the Cederberg. It may be the healthiest tea of all, with new health benefits being discovered all the time. It is a wonderful flavour builder because it lacks the bitter tannins of black tea, so it works beautifully with fruit and flower blends.”
• Dandelion loose-leaf teas are 99,9 % locally sourced. To maintain control over her product and ensure no additives creep in, Bianca Markram dries most of the ingredients and mixes the intriguing blends herself. Our favourite is The Pink One (red apple, raspberries, hibiscus flowers, rose hips and petals, and green rooibos).