Green Honeybush

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 small areas in the southwest and southeast of South Africa and has many similarities with rooibos. Honeybush is so named because the flowers smell of honey. The taste of honeybush tea is similar to that of rooibos but a little sweeter. Both are much more fragrant than any tea prepared from Camellia species, or indeed than most so-called "herbal teas". In some rural districts it used to be common practice to keep a kettle of honeybush tea infusing on the stove ready for drinking while scenting the whole house — unlike domestic tea prepared from Camellia sinensis, the product does not rapidly spoil as it simmers.