Bale & Arsi highlands.
One farm cooperative in the Ethiopian highlands. Volcanic soil, cold nights, intense sun. The plant has to work harder to grow there — and that’s the whole point.
- Altitude
- 2,200 – 2,800 m
The process
Each step is an obvious one. Most brands skip half of them.
Day seventy-five. Not earlier.
Most farms harvest at day 60 — yield per acre is higher. We wait until day 75. The seed is fully matured; the active compounds have had time to build up.
- Cycle
- 75+ days
Cold-pressed. No solvents.
Pressed slowly in California at under 60°C. Heat above that breaks down the parts of the seed that actually do something. Less oil per pound. The oil we get is intact.
- Press temp
- ≤ 60°C
Named third-party lab.
Every batch is tested by an outside lab — name and accreditation locked once our manufacturing partner’s RFQ closes. We name the method (HPLC-UV — High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV detection — on the fixed oil) so you know which number you’re reading. The fixed oil is what stays in the bottle. We test that fraction every batch, not the volatile fraction (which evaporates in heat) and not just once a year. Most brands say "third-party tested" and stop there. Check back when bottles ship — this section will name the lab and link the COA.
- Method
- HPLC-UV · fixed oil
- Lab
- To be named on launch · ISO 17025 accredited
Glass. Sealed the same day.
Glass bottles, BPA-free cap, sealed the day the oil is pressed. Lot number and harvest date printed on the bottle itself — not a sticker that can fall off.
- Material
- Glass
The lab numbers in your box.
Every bottle ships with a printed card showing the actual numbers for that specific batch. Not a website link. Not a brand average. Your bottle.
- Inside
- Per-batch COA
From there to here
The artifact
This is what ships in every box.
Filled in per batch. Traceable by lot. The card answers the question every label-reader has been quietly asking about everything in the cabinet.
What ships in your box
habb · Certificate of Analysis
BATCH [LOT] · representative example
Thymoquinone (TQ)The active compound. Measured per batch.
HPLC-UV · fixed oil
p-CymeneAdulteration check. Absent in canola, soy, palm, sunflower.
GC method
Fatty acid profileThe seed’s fingerprint. Cuts shift the ratios.
Linoleic / Oleic / Palmitic
Benzo(a)pyreneHeat-extraction byproduct. Low number = cold-pressed.
< 2.0 μg/kg
Peroxide value (PV)Oxidation indicator at point of shipment.
meq O₂/kg
Acid value (AV)Second freshness check.
mg KOH/g
Harvest-to-bottleDate-to-date. Printed alongside best-by.
days
A 3:4 portrait card on cream-linen stock — printed for the batch in your box. The data table below is the same fields, rendered for the screen.
Thymoquinone (TQ)The active compound. Measured per batch.
HPLC-UV · fixed oil
p-CymeneAdulteration check. Absent in canola, soy, palm, sunflower.
GC method
Fatty acid profileThe seed's fingerprint. Cuts shift the ratios.
Linoleic / Oleic / Palmitic
Benzo(a)pyreneHeat-extraction byproduct. Low number = cold-pressed.
< 2.0 μg/kg
Peroxide value (PV)Oxidation indicator at point of shipment.
meq O₂/kg
Acid value (AV)Second freshness check.
mg KOH/g
Harvest-to-bottleDate-to-date. Printed alongside best-by.
days
Look up your batch
Have a bottle? Pull up its lab numbers.
Every batch has its report on file. If a friend hands you a habb bottle and you want to see what’s in it, the lot number on the bottle pulls it up.
Why this matters
Same bottle. Different number, depending on how you measure.
263×
difference in active-compound content across eleven commercial black seed oil products tested in 2022. Same category. Same ingredient.
Nutrients · 2022 · PMC9460610
The industry is allowed to pick its method, pick its moment to test, and pick what to print.
habb’s method
HPLC-UV · fixed oil
What’s in the oil you swallow.
2.0 – 4.6%
habb's bottles test in this range, with a 2.0% minimum on every batch. The number is what your body actually receives.
GC-MS · volatile fraction
What evaporates if you heat it.
22 – 35%
Same bottle. Different lab method. The number is real, but it doesn’t reflect what you ingest.
Both tests are real. Both labs give you a certificate. Only one of them reflects what’s in the oil you’re about to swallow.
Just as important
What’s not in the bottle.
Most supplements are made by adding things. habb is made by leaving things out.
SolventsNo hexane. No chemical extraction. Mechanical pressing only.
Carrier oilsNo sunflower, soy, palm, or canola filling out the bottle.
PreservativesSealed glass + fast turnaround means no need for them.
FlavoringsIt tastes peppery. That’s the seed talking.
Capsule shellsNo gelatin. No glycerin. No animal-derived anything.
BleachingNo deodorizing or decolorizing. The oil looks like the oil.
Second pressingFirst press only. Whatever’s left in the cake stays there.
PET plasticGlass only. Plastic leaches into oil over time.
The literature
Whose work the science actually rests on.
We don’t pay these researchers. We don’t consult them. We’re citing their work because it’s the work. habb’s claims about Nigella sativa rest on the published literature, not on a paid spokesperson. None of these researchers are affiliated with habb. Click through to read their papers on PubMed.
Tavakkoli A. et al.
Review on Clinical Trials of Black Seed (Nigella sativa) and Its Active Constituent, Thymoquinone.
PubMed →Hannan M.A. et al.
Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.): A Comprehensive Review on Phytochemistry, Health Benefits, Molecular Pharmacology, and Safety.
PubMed →Mahdavi R. et al.
Effects of black seed (Nigella sativa) on metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes.
PubMed →Yimer E.M. et al.
Nigella sativa L. (Black Cumin): A Promising Natural Remedy for Wide Range of Illnesses.
PubMed →Salea R. et al.
Comparative analysis of thymoquinone in commercial Nigella sativa oils — 263× variance across products.
PubMed Central →PubMed corpus
Over 3,000 indexed papers on Nigella sativa — animal models, in vitro, human trials, reviews.
PubMed →Researchers cited, not affiliated with habb. We do not pay for endorsement and we do not consult these labs. The papers above are publicly indexed and free to read on PubMed.
From the field to your counter
Roughly twenty-three weeks. Start to finish.
i.
Week 0Harvestii.
Week 4Cleaning & exportiii.
Week 10Arrives in Californiaiv.
Week 12Cold-press & lab testv.
Week 13Bottled & sealedvi.
Week 14+Ships to youIf you’re ready
One ingredient. One bottle. One card.
Fourteen hundred years of tradition. Three thousand peer-reviewed papers. One card in the box.
Hold my bottle →