Even though it is most often marketed as a tea, rooibos is actually an herb (Aspalathus linearis) belonging to the broom-like legume family of plants that grow in the fynbos, a small area of natural shrub land located in a narrow belt of the western Cape of South Africa. The name linearis is in reference to the plant’s linear growth structure and needle-like leaves. |
Rooibos was first discover- ed in 1772 by Swedish naturalist, Carl Thunberg in the Cederberg region of South Africa, who noticed that “the country people made tea” from the rooibos or redbush plant.The locals that had discovered the herb growing wild would climb the mountain where it was locat- ed and harvest the fine needle-like leaves from wild rooibos plants. They would roll the bushes into hessian bags and bring them back down the steep slopes on the backs of donkeys. They would then chop and bruise the leaves with axes and hammers, then leave them in the sun to dry. |
The Cape’s Dutch settlers developed rooibos as an alternative to black tea which was not only expensive but at times difficult to obtain. The settlers were forced to rely on their supply of tea to arrive on supply ships from Eur- ope which meant sometimes waiting for many months between shipments.In 1904 a Russian-Jewish Cape settler named Benjamin Ginsberg became fascinated with wild rooibos he found while exploring in the mountains. He began running experiments to perfect curing the herb from his home at Rondegat farm.To produce rooibos tea he mimicked step-by-step the traditional Chinese manufacture of Keemun black tea, starting with fermenting the tea in barrels covered in wet hessian sacks to replicate the effects of bamboo baskets.By 1930 Ginsberg turned his attention to growing rooibos, persuading local resident and Rhodes scholar, Dr. le Fras Nortier to experiment with cultivation of the plant. Dr. le Fras Nortier successfully cultivated the first plants at Clanwilliam on the Klein Kliphuis farm, which today is a guest hotel. At first it was difficult to obtain seeds of the An aged Khoi woman showed up time With Dr. le Fras Nortier’s attempts at cultivation finally successful, Benjamin Ginsberg Within ten years the price of rooibos seeds soared to an Rooibos tea goes by several different names such as bush tea (especially in South Africa), Rooibos is only grown in one small area in the region of Western Cape Province in South black tea with the leaves fully oxidized, giving it green tea, which adds to the cost, making it more expensive than traditional rooibos.Rooibos is prepared the same as black tea and served with |
Coffee shops in South Africa have recently begun to sell “red espresso,” a concentrated rooibos made in the style of regular espresso. Other rooibos-based variations of popular coffee drinks have followed such as red lattes, and red cappuccinos. Also an iced tea made with rooibos is available in South Africa, Australia, and the United States.Rooibos is popular in the West, especially by health conscious consumers because of its high levels of antioxidants, aspalathin, and nothofagin, nocaffeine, and low tannin levels (the com pound that causes astringency in tea). It also contains phenolic compounds including flavones, flavanols, flavanones, and dihydrochalcones.A recent Japanese study suggests rooibos tea may be beneficial in the topical treatment of acne due to levels of alpha hydroxy acid, zinc, and superoxide dismutase.Rooibos is graded mainly by the percentage of needle or leaf to stem content in the mix. A higher leaf content results in a darker liquor, richer flavor, and less “dusty” aftertaste. Enjoy. |