At Cape Natural Tea Products, we strive to supply only the highest quality herbal teas to our clients around the world. In this blog post, we celebrate our quality laboratory team, responsible for quality checks from source to the final product.
Lab supervisor Monique Gordon manages a team of 14 Quality Controllers. Her team conducts a wide range of tests on our products. Each batch is tested upon first delivery at our Rooibos processing courts, while in productions, and once the final product is completed.
The tests include sensory evaluation, sieving analysis, bulk density analysis, and flow tests. A certificate of analysis is also provided on each batch of final product. This ensures that our products comply with our clients' specifications.
Lwandile Faniso, Quality Control Supervisor, has been with us for seven years. He says he is excited by how the lab's capacity has grown since he first started. He says the favourite parts of his job are conducting sensory evaluations and also communicating results with the production department.
Working hand-in-hand with the production department, the lab is able to inform the continuous improvement of product quality. Anevay Africa, Quality Controller, says that through good communication between departments, the lab is able to be consistent in ensuring the highest standards.
When clients request new products or blends, it requires an integrated approach between the sales team, production team, product innovation team, and the lab. All new products are first trialled in the lab before being produced on a large scale. This system enables us to provide clients with samples of what new products would look and taste like.
Monique says that because we work with agricultural products, quality inevitably varies from
batch to batch. To improve consistency, Monique and other members of the quality team are conducting sensory training with Rooibos farmers, assisting them in improving the quality of their produce. The data collected by the team throughout the quality control process is also fed back to farmers.
According to Monique, working at Cape Natural Tea Products means that you are always appreciated as an employee. She says that her input is always appreciated by top management and she feels gratified in being able to contribute positively to the company.
Lwandile agrees. With the support of Cape Natural Tea Products, he is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Consumer Studies in Food and Nutrition. He believes this will equip him with a better understanding of the science behind the quality control process.
Asked to describe themselves in four words, Anevay said she is dedicated, trustworthy, loyal and curious. "That's how other people describe me," she laughs. Lwandile said he prides himself on being honest, friendly, kind, and motivated. Monique smiles: "Bubbly, hands-on, creative and bashful."