There's a Difference between Sea Salt & Desert Salt that's Invisible. You Should Know about it.
THE KALAHARI DESERT: A TERROIR LIKE NO OTHER
It’s easy to imagine the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa as a vast emptiness; a harsh terrain, arid, with little vegetation, no water and dry, scorching heat where not much happens. The inhospitable landscape doesn't invite urban developments, there's no industry and therefore no pollution. The horizon goes on forever, the air is translucently clear.
What is hidden from view is that the desert is not actually empty.
HIDDEN TREASURE
In a remote area, deep in the 900,000 km2 desert, lies a 50km2 salt pan. Beneath the surface is a 55 million ton underground aquifer. This aquifer is replenished by 3 underground streams flowing through ancient 300-million-year old Dwyka rock formations and over time, leaving sodium chloride, mineral and trace element deposits forming the brine.
The 100% saturated brine is drawn up from the aquifer and then laid out under the hot Kalahari sun (in summer, up to 47° C) where it crystallises in just 4 weeks (one lunar cycle) subject only to the sun, moon, starlight and the dry Kalahari wind. The salt is unprocessed, with no additives, no bleaching. What looks like ‘nothing happening’ is simply nature at work.
The isolated geology of the underground aquifer and the pristine desert location safeguards our salt from contamination, naturally protecting its purity and mineral integrity.
This is an essential differentiator when it comes to comparing desert salt with other salts.
THE IMPACT OF OCEAN POLLUTION IS REAL
A recent ScienceDirect article reveals that ‘sea salt, obtained by evaporating seawater, is particularly vulnerable to contamination by marine microplastics’ and ‘sea salt, in particular, has been shown to contain measurable amounts of microplastics, raising concerns about long-term dietary exposure.’
The article also noted that 90-95% of salts tested contain microplastics. ‘Given that it is widely consumed, the presence of microplastics in commercial salt has become a critical public health issue.’
What the ocean absorbs, inevitably becomes what sea salt absorbs and that includes not just micro- and nano-plastics, but also pharmaceutical waste, intentional industrial waste-dumping in the oceans and industrial run-off.
Desert salt then, becomes a meaningful choice when it comes to health and wellbeing.
WHAT QUALITIES ARE INFUSED IN THE SALT YOU EAT?
There are other treasures of a more intangible nature that the desert brings. Serenity. Tranquility. Solitude. Vistas and horizons. Quiet, silence.
Not only do we strive to produce an exceptional product, we want to inspire a way of being in the world.
The desert encourages us to slow right down to a human pace; the beat of your heart, the measured steps of the Oryx gazelle. It exists within the natural rhythms of the earth, the cycle of seasons, the phases of the moon, the sun, the wind and the desert rain. This is desert terroir. Just as wine is imbued with all the qualities of the soil, the terroir and climate the grapes are grown in, so the slow peace and stillness of the Kalahari Desert permeates every salt crystal harvested.
That translates into its unique taste: round, soft, complex. It translates into the way you sprinkle a generous amount of salt in a leisurely way onto the food you’re preparing in your kitchen. Relaxed. Unhurried.
The way you might really like to live your life.
