Kawakawa

Kawakawa is a well known native plant that has a history of benefits and uses

kawakawa is an attractive native plant to Aotearoa, New Zealand.  It has beautiful scented heart shaped leaves.  The special flavours and warming effects of kawakawa make it an excellent ingredient in culinary creations and herbal teas.  

Kawakawa isn't just highly fragrant and tasty, but also contains an abundance of wellness properties. 

Kawakawa (Piper excelsum) is a relative of black pepper (Piper nigrum). The family of plants to which they belong to is Piperaceae.  Black pepper is well known for its traditional medicinal and culinary uses from cultures all around the world.

In rongoā Māori, kawakawa is used frequently.  Kawakawa is used topically to soothe skin issues, and to also relieve toothache and gastrointestinal complaints.

Kawakawa contains pellitorine, this compound is known to create a numbing effect on the body.  Kawakawa also contains anti-inflammatory properties, free amino acids, vitamins an other health focused compounds. A recent study on this native plant shares some valuable insight into its benefits.

Click here to read a full article from Liggins Institute article regarding kawakawa.

We love using kawakawa in our products, it is one of our main herbs. 

Kawakawa, a main ingredient in our product range: 

At Native Tree Farm we will begin to harvest from our certified organic stand of kawakawa trees in late 2025 to early 2026.  The leaves are a vital ingredient in our product range.

Kawakawa contains wellness properties that lend itself to herbal formulations, foods and cosmetic applications. We produce a pure kawakawa herbal tea and a kawakawa herbal latte, which is an excellent coffee alternative.