Honeybush

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Honeybush

Honeybush or Heuningbos

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Rosopsida
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Cyclopia
Species:	genistoides;Intermedia;Sebternata;Sessiliflora

Binomial name

Cyclopia spp
L. Vent.

Honeybush (scientific name Cyclopia spp.; Family: Fabaceae), or 'Heuningbos' in Afrikaans, is commonly used to make an infusion in the same manner as tea. It grows only in a small area in the southwest of South Africa in the Langkloof and shares many similarities with rooibos.There are 23 species of honeybush tea found in the wild, of which mainly 4 are used for commercial use.

These are Cyclopia intermedia, known as 'berg tee' or mountain tea; C. subternata, known as 'vlei tee' or marshland tea; C. genistoides, known as 'kus tee' or coastal tea; and C. sessiliflora, known as 'Heidelberg tee', named after a town in South Africa, where it grows in the local mountain range.

There are two methods of processing honeybush for use in tea. In the traditional method, the leaves of the bush are harvested, cut and bruised (often with mechanical rollers), and then left in the sun to oxidise.

The modern, industralised process oxidises the leaves in rotating, heated tanks at temperatures of 70 to 90 degrees Celsius, for two to three days. The leaves are then air dried.

Afterwards, the leaves are sifted and graded according to the application:

Super Fine (mostly used for string & tag tea bags)
Regular Fine (mostly used for swimming tea bags or loose tea application)
Coarse (mostly used for loose tea application)

South Africa's University of the Free State found Honeybush an effective aid for constipation and a mild relaxant.^{[citation needed]}

Honeybush contains virtually no caffeine (< 0.01% compared to 3.3% in ceylon tea)^{[citation needed]}, and is low in tannin (0.45% compared to 30% in ceylon tea)^{[citation needed]}. Tannin inhibits absorption of minerals.

Some of the active compounds present in Honeybush include: