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Carmién Tea was founded by South African entrepreneur, Mientjie Mouton, the current Managing Director. As a proudly female-founded company, top management currently consists of 90% women with the second generation being involved in the family business for up to 12 years ensuring a solid succession plan.

Mientjie grew up on a rooibos-producing farm outside of the small town of Citrusdal in the Western Cape of South Africa. Growing up amongst the rooibos fields, she saw great potential in this miracle plant. Shortly after deregulating the South African agricultural industry, Carmién Tea Pty Ltd was registered in 1999 where the company started exporting rooibos tea globally.

Her experience with international tea companies inspired Mientjie to develop rooibos-based tea blends which did not exist at that stage – it was predominantly available in its pure form on retailer shelves. Today, the Carmién Rooibos tea range has expanded greatly with more than 40 rooibos-based teas in its collection, along with various rooibos-based speciality products.

Apart from noticing the potential and versatility of rooibos and all its natural health benefits, Mientjie wanted to create a company that makes a difference on the ‘ground’ level and has an economic impact on everyone involved in the cost chain. Since its inception, Carmién Tea and its producer shareholders have invested greatly in the training and development of farm workers and the upliftment of communities where rooibos tea is grown, while actively striving to create sustainable jobs.

With the expansion of Carmién Tea, a dedicated tea factory, Bergendal Rooibos Pty Ltd, was established in 2006 for the processing and packing of rooibos. With her partners, Mientjie guided the formation of Bergendal Rooibos, the exclusive factory for Carmién Tea, of which 50% is owned by farm workers.