Terms and Conditions
Written in plain language as required by the Consumer Protection Act. Please read these before placing an order.
These Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between Tea of Life (Pty) Ltd (registration number on file) ("Tea of Life", "we", "us", "our") and any person who visits, browses, or places an order through our website at teaoflife.co.za ("you", "your").
By using this website or placing an order, you agree to be bound by these terms. These terms comply with the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA), the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Where any provision conflicts with a mandatory provision of applicable South African law, that provision will be modified to comply.
These terms are written in plain language as required by Section 22 of the CPA. If anything is unclear, please contact us before placing an order.
About Tea of Life
Tea of Life (Pty) Ltd is a South African company that brews and sells REAL kombucha from our facility in Cape Town. Our registered trading address and contact details are:
Placing an order
Browsing our website, adding items to your cart, or adding products to a wishlist does not constitute a binding order or an agreement of sale.
A binding agreement of sale comes into effect only when you have completed the checkout process, submitted a properly completed order, and payment has been successfully authorised or received by us.
By placing an order, you confirm that:
- You are legally capable of entering into a binding agreement
- You are authorised to use the payment method you have selected
- You have sufficient funds or credit available to complete the transaction
- All information you have provided is accurate and complete
We reserve the right to refuse or cancel any order at our discretion. If we cancel an order after payment has been received, we will refund you in full within 5 business days. We accept no further liability in such cases.
Stock availability. All products are subject to availability. We make every effort to keep our website current, but if a product is unavailable after your order is placed, we will notify you promptly and offer a full refund or a suitable alternative.
In accordance with Section 46 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, we will execute your order within 30 days of receipt unless we have agreed otherwise with you in writing.
Prices and VAT
All prices displayed on our website are in South African Rand (ZAR) and include VAT at the current applicable rate of 15%. Prices do not include delivery charges, which are calculated and displayed at checkout before you confirm your order.
Prices are subject to change without prior notice. The price that applies to your order is the price displayed at the time you complete checkout. If we discover a pricing error after your order has been confirmed, we will contact you before dispatching and give you the option to proceed at the correct price or receive a full refund.
In the event of a special offer or promotional price, the discounted price will be displayed clearly. We reserve the right to withdraw or modify promotions at any time, and promotional prices apply only while stock lasts.
Payment
We accept payment by credit card, debit card, and electronic funds transfer (EFT) through our secure payment gateway. All card transactions are processed using industry-standard encryption. We do not store your card details on our servers.
Payment is required in full at the time of ordering. We will not dispatch any order until payment has been confirmed.
If your payment is declined, your order will not be confirmed. You may retry with an alternative payment method. Tea of Life accepts no liability for orders that fail due to payment authorisation being declined.
In compliance with Section 43(5) of ECTA, we use a secure, industry-standard payment system for all online transactions.
Before you confirm your order, you will be shown a full summary of all items, quantities, prices, delivery costs, and any applicable discounts. You will have the opportunity to review and correct your order before submitting it, in compliance with Section 22(2) of ECTA.
Delivery
We deliver to physical addresses throughout South Africa. We are unable to deliver to PO Box addresses. Delivery to major centres typically takes 2 to 4 business days from dispatch. Remote areas may take longer. All delivery timeframes are estimates and are not binding guarantees.
Orders are dispatched within 1 to 2 business days of payment confirmation. Orders placed after 12pm, over weekends, or on public holidays will be dispatched on the next business day.
You will receive a tracking number by email once your order has been collected by our courier. Delivery periods begin from the date of dispatch, not the date of ordering.
Someone must be present to accept delivery. Any person who accepts delivery at your nominated address is conclusively assumed to be authorised to do so on your behalf. If no one is available to accept delivery, the courier will leave notification and reattempt delivery. Tea of Life is not liable for any loss arising from missed deliveries where no authorised person was available.
If you instruct us to deliver to an address other than the one originally provided, Tea of Life is not liable for any loss or damage resulting from delivery to that alternative address.
For full details of delivery costs and regional timeframes, please see our Shipping and Returns page.
Risk and ownership
Risk in the products passes to you upon delivery and acceptance of the goods at your nominated delivery address. From that point, the products are your responsibility.
Ownership of the products passes to you upon receipt of full payment by Tea of Life. Until payment is received in full, Tea of Life retains ownership of all products.
Because Tea of Life kombucha is a living, perishable product, we strongly recommend that you or an authorised person is available to receive and refrigerate the products promptly upon delivery. Tea of Life is not liable for any deterioration in product quality that results from the products not being refrigerated after delivery.
Cancellations
If you wish to cancel an order, please contact us as quickly as possible at sales@teaoflife.co.za or on 061 519 1755. We will do our best to cancel the order before it is dispatched.
Once an order has been dispatched by our courier, we are unable to cancel it. In this case, you may be entitled to exercise your cooling-off rights as set out in Section 8 below.
If we are able to cancel your order before dispatch, we will refund you in full within 5 business days to your original payment method. Delivery charges are not refundable if goods have already been collected by our courier.
If a product is unavailable after your order is placed, we will cancel that portion of your order and issue a pro-rata refund without delay.
Your cooling-off right
In accordance with Section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA), you have the right to cancel a purchase made through our website within 7 days of receiving your goods, without penalty and without giving any reason, provided that:
- The products are unopened and in their original condition
- The products have not been consumed or partially used
- The products are returned to us in a saleable condition
- You notify us in writing within 7 days of receipt
Important — perishable goods. Tea of Life products are perishable, living fermented beverages. Once opened or consumed, they cannot be returned under the cooling-off right. If you choose to exercise your cooling-off right on unopened products, you will be responsible for the cost of returning the goods to us, and we will refund the purchase price (excluding original delivery charges) within 5 business days of receiving the returned goods in satisfactory condition.
Email us at sales@teaoflife.co.za within 7 days of receiving your order. Include your order number and the reason for cancellation. We will confirm receipt and provide return instructions within 1 business day.
Incorrect or defective goods
In terms of Section 56 of the Consumer Protection Act, if you receive goods that are defective, unsafe, or do not match what was described or ordered, you are entitled to:
- Return the goods and receive a full refund, or
- Have the goods replaced, or
- Have the goods repaired (where applicable)
You must notify us within 30 days of delivery by emailing sales@teaoflife.co.za with your order number, a description of the problem, and where possible a photograph of the affected product.
Where it is determined that the product was defective or incorrect at the time of delivery, Tea of Life will arrange collection at our cost and will replace the product or issue a full refund including original delivery charges. Replacement delivery will also be at our cost.
This does not apply to:
- Over-carbonation caused by improper storage or handling after delivery
- Natural sediment or yeast strands in the bottle, which are a normal characteristic of unpasteurised kombucha
- Flavour preferences or general dissatisfaction with a product that was correctly described and delivered in proper condition
Under Section 61 of the Consumer Protection Act, Tea of Life as a producer and retailer of food products is subject to strict product liability for harm caused by unsafe goods. If you believe you have experienced a genuine product safety issue, please contact us immediately.
Our liability to you
Tea of Life's liability to you is limited to the extent permitted by South African law, including the CPA and ECTA. Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under applicable consumer protection legislation.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Tea of Life will not be liable to you for:
- Indirect, incidental, or consequential loss of any kind
- Loss resulting from your failure to follow storage and handling instructions provided
- Loss resulting from events outside our reasonable control (see Section 13 — Force Majeure)
- Errors, interruptions, or delays in our website or services caused by circumstances beyond our control
Our total liability to you in connection with any order will not exceed the total amount you paid for that order.
Health and wellness claims. The health information provided on our website is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Our products are food and beverage products and are not medicines. Tea of Life makes no therapeutic or medicinal claims. All wellness descriptions on our website are subject to the provisions of the South African Foodstuffs Act (R146) and are expressed as general wellness observations only, not as medical claims.
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions removes or limits your statutory rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or any other applicable South African legislation. Any clause in these terms that is inconsistent with a mandatory provision of the CPA will be read as modified to comply with that provision.
Intellectual property
All content on this website — including text, images, photographs, logos, graphic designs, trademarks, product names, and all other materials — is the property of Tea of Life (Pty) Ltd or its licensors and is protected by South African and international intellectual property law.
You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, publish, transmit, display, or create derivative works from any content on this website without our prior written consent. You may not use our trademarks or brand names in any manner without written authorisation.
You are permitted to view, print, and save content from this website solely for your own personal, non-commercial use. Any other use requires our prior written consent.
If you believe that any content on our website infringes your intellectual property rights, please contact us at sales@teaoflife.co.za.
Use of this website
You agree to use this website only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of others or restrict their use of the website.
You may not:
- Use this website in any way that is unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful
- Introduce any viruses, malicious code, or disruptive material to the website
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the website or its related systems
- Scrape, copy, or extract content from this website for commercial purposes
- Use automated tools to access or interact with the website in any manner
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. These links are provided for your convenience only. We do not control those websites and accept no responsibility for their content, availability, or privacy practices. Clicking a link to a third-party website is at your own risk.
We do not warrant that this website will be available at all times, free from errors, or free from viruses or other harmful components. We reserve the right to suspend or withdraw access to the website at any time without notice.
Force majeure
Tea of Life will not be in breach of these terms or liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations where that failure or delay results from a force majeure event — meaning any event beyond our reasonable control.
Force majeure events include, without limitation: acts of God, fire, flood, earthquake, epidemic, pandemic, industrial action or strike, war, civil unrest, terrorist acts, government restrictions, power failures, failure of telecommunications networks, or any other event of a similar nature.
If a force majeure event continues for more than 14 consecutive days, either party may terminate any affected order by giving written notice. If you have already paid for an order that cannot be fulfilled due to force majeure, we will refund you in full.
Governing law and jurisdiction
Governing law. These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
Jurisdiction. You consent to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa in respect of any dispute arising from or in connection with these terms, your use of our website, or your purchase of our products. This does not prevent you from seeking relief in any other court of competent jurisdiction.
Domicilium. For the purpose of receiving any legal notices from Tea of Life, you choose as your domicilium citandi et executandi the physical address, email address, and contact details you provided when placing your order or registering your account. You are responsible for keeping these details current and accurate.
Dispute resolution. Before escalating any dispute to court, we encourage you to contact us directly at sales@teaoflife.co.za. We are committed to resolving disputes fairly and promptly. If a dispute cannot be resolved directly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Commission at thencc.org.za or call 0860 266 786.
Severability. If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, that provision will be treated as deleted to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these terms at any time does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce that provision in the future.
Entire agreement. These Terms and Conditions, together with our Privacy Policy and Shipping and Returns Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Tea of Life in relation to your use of our website and the purchase of our products. They supersede all previous representations, warranties, or agreements, whether written or oral.
Assignment. You may not transfer, assign, or sub-contract any of your rights or obligations under these terms to any third party without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations to any successor of our business.
Changes to these terms. We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time to reflect changes in law, our products, or our practices. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised date. Your continued use of the website after any change constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.
Questions and complaints
If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, or if you have a complaint about our products or services, please contact us:
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact the National Consumer Commission at thencc.org.za or on 0860 266 786.
South Africa's original living kombucha.
Brewed in Cape Town since 2015. Unpasteurised, slow fermented, and good for you.
