US natural products company partners with local rooibos farmers
Iowa, USA-based natural and organic products company Frontier Natural Products Co-op is partnering with tea growers in South Africa. As part of its Well Earth program, Frontier donated US$20,000 to help revamp the rooibos tea production and fermentation process at a farmers' cooperative in the Cederberg Mountains.
A cooperative of 86 small-scale, local farmers now produces rooibos for Frontier. During apartheid, the area's farmers were forced onto the most unproductive land in the region, today however, this marginal land is home to high-quality rooibos. Production process improvements have resulted in extremely balanced fermentation of the rooibos tea, creating a finer flavor and even more dramatic red color.
Key improvements to the grower co-op's rooibos production include a highly sophisticated mechanical crushing system and automated de-clumping equipment, as well as sanitation and food safety improvements. The new techniques have also reduced waste from 15 percent to less than 1 percent - a huge boon to small farmers who depend on red tea for their livelihoods.
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