History at a glance

The indigenous Khoikhoi and San people introduce early European settlers to buchu.

Cape settlers introduce buchu into Europe. It was known as the “noble tea” and only affordable to the wealthy.

Naturalist William John Burchell introduces buchu to the medical profession. He created buchu vinegar, which he used to heal skin wounds, as well as Buchu brandy, which he proclaimed “faster disappeared than could be accounted for by the wants of my patient”.

Buchu is officially registered in the British Pharmacopoeia as a diuretic

Buchu leaf imported into the United States as a panacea for a wide variety of ailments

The Titanic sets sail from Southampton carrying eight bales of buchu, as noted in the ill-fated ship’s cargo manifest.

Frank Versfeld plants the first commercial buchu fields on top of Piketberg mountain.

Oil is extracted from the Buchu plant by means of steam distillation for the first time, making it possible to blend and produce pure buchu oil.

Buchu is indexed in the American Merck Index, the British Martindale’s Edition and Scottish Medical Journal.

Mouton’s Valley, Puris Natural Aroma Chemicals, Skimmelberg Fynbos Oils and Waterfall Health farms establish the Buchu Association.

Parceval joins the Buchu Association.

The Buchu Association signs an industry-wide benefit-sharing agreement with the Khoikhoi and San peoples as the traditional knowledge holders on buchu.