Today is International Tea Day, so what better way to celebrate than with a fabulous local tea brand that is taking this to a whole new level!
If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.
-William Ewart Gladstone
I am a huge tea fan, and working from home means I am indulging in many more pots of tea than usual, as well as trying interesting flavours and brews. So when I saw Mütea I was intrigued – in case you didn’t know, Muti is a term for traditional medicine in Southern Africa. It is derived from the Zulu word umuthi, and is now a colloquial word for medicine in general. I loved this play on words, and also the fact that herbal teas are jam-packed with antioxidants and goodness – a natural muti indeed.
Your name: Melissa and Byron Denizen
Business name: Mütea
Social media handles: Facebook, Instagram and Website
Tell me a bit more about your business: mütea is derived from the word ‘muti’, a term for traditional medicine in Southern Africa. mütea medicinal loose leaf tea was created to encourage and maintain a more sustainable approach to overall health and well-being.
How the idea to start this come about: I was drinking herbal tea for health reasons versus resorting to noncritical medication, which I was unprepared to take with its long list of side effects. After 2 months of drinking herbal tea I had resolved my health issue entirely. Byron joked (as my maiden name is Melissa Oosthuizen, emphasis on the double ‘o’ in Oosthuizen) that we should start a tea company calle mootea. We settled on mütea instead.
What makes your tea so special: All the ingredients used are locally, organically and ethically sourced. Our blends make use of a health shotgun effect incorporating numerous herbs with similar health benefits and properties into each blend. Everybody is different, and because our teas are designed for a slow sustainable approach to health and wellness they are gentle enough for daily use to encourage lasting long term health habits. Our teas are also plastic free products making use of a corn starch environmentally friendly plastic alternative for our packaging.
Why do you recommend loose tea leaves: We recommend loose tea leaves for environmental and meditative reasons. Most tea bags have been chemically treated and is an unnecessary manufacturing process which has a negative effect on the environment. It is also a more intentional process to brew loose leaf tea, encouraging a slower more meditative lifestyle.
What are your different flavours: We use various mints, buchu, rooibos and other herbs that enhance the fresh botanical flavour profile of our teas.
Which is your personal favourite: Our detox tea is awesome, rooibos and buchu are two of the eight herbs in that blend giving it an amazing flavour and our sleep tea is also fantastic and works a treat.
What makes your honey different to that you can get in the shops: Our honey is infused with CBD.
I see you have extra & standard strength honey – please explain more: Our honey is meant to be taken daily as part of one’s dietary plan, the extra strength has a bit more CBD in it so it can also be used for more immediate pain management assistance. It is also a richer honey flavour being the fynbos.
Quote you live by: Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
Anything else you want to add: We intend on expanding into other ethically sourced food and beverage products, which we are looking forward to launching hopefully early next year.
I am all for more natural health treatments, and if it is included in a comforting cup of tea what could be better? I also adore the fact that Melissa encourages us all to slow down – lockdown has shown me that so often we are rushing around doing 10 million things for other people, and not truly taking care of ourselves.
So why not pour yourself a lovely cup of tea, sit outside (before it gets too cold!) and just BE.
There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.
-Lin Yutang
