Rooibos Tea

The most popular beverage around the world is undoubtedly coffee. Not surprisingly, the second most popular one is tea. Rooibos tea, which is a recent entry into the world of tea, has been rising in popularity for the past couple of decades.

The word Rooibos is an Afrikaans, a language spoken in the southern region of the African continent. In the original language, Rooibos is actually a combination of two different words — “roy” and “bos”. In English, this means “red bush”. It is not surprising as the rooibos plant is actually a shrub that is red in colour. And until a century ago, people didn’t know much about the amazing properties of this shrub. Read this article to find out more about rooibos tea. Having a better understanding of them will help you make the right choices when you are making the purchase.

A beginner’s guide to Rooibos tea

Botanically, Rooibos is a member of a family of herbs. Therefore, it has various medicinal properties. What gives Rooibos similar to tea leaves is the presence of a compound known as tannin. This element that is also present in regular tea is responsible for the ‘waking-up’ effect that you get when you drink tea. But tea also contains caffeine, while Rooibos does not have any caffeine. How an unknown wild shrub is becoming a popular household item is very interesting to look at. This article will tell you everything you need to know about rooibos plants and rooibos tea.

History of rooibos tea

The regular tea, which is the leaves of the Camellia sinensis tree, has its origins in Ancient China. But unlike that, rooibos tea was first found in South Africa by the Dutch sailors. Later they found out that the needle-like leaves of this can work as a substitute for the expensive tea leaves; they are importing from China. However, it was not marketed as a product to the general public until the beginning of the twentieth century. But since then, it has only been rising in popularity across the world. In the last couple of decades, researchers have figured out that Rooibos leaves also have some amazing health benefits as well, which makes it all the more attractive.

Harvesting rooibos plant

Rooibos plant grows only in a small region in South Africa. In this region, called Cederberg, Rooibos grows everywhere like a wild shrub. It doesn’t even need any effort either. However, if you are trying to farm it elsewhere, it is going to be a really tough task. And not really worth the effort. The season in which Rooibos grow the most is when the sun is the hottest during the summer months. In Cederberg, this is between February and March. But after harvesting these shrubs, farmers cut and dry the leaves. If these dried leaves are kept away from the moisture, it won’t go bad for a really long time.

Health benefits of rooibos tea

These days, most people who replace their regular tea with rooibos tea do it for the health benefits of rooibos plants. Even though some people make it sound like Rooibos is some kind of a magic plant that can cure almost all kinds of ailments, a few of these claims actually have substance to it. Firstly, rooibos tea does not contain caffeine. This means that they are not harmful to health even if you consume four or five cups of rooibos tea in a day. Moreover, Rooibos is also a rich source of antioxidants and minerals. The anti-inflammatory components of the plant can actually help in improving the functioning of the heart in older people.

Side effects of rooibos tea

Just like most other herbs, Rooibos can have some negative effects if you consume too much of it or if you have any pre-existing health condition. While antioxidants in Rooibos is beneficial in moderate amounts, having too many antioxidants can be harmful. Doctors advise patients who take hormonal medications against drinking rooibos tea. Apparently, some compounds in Rooibos can mess with hormones and can potentially lead to problems. Similarly, breastfeeding mothers should also avoid taking Rooibos because it can reach the body of the infant through breastfeeding.