Rooibos Tea

Rooibos tea ( which means Redbush) is to South Africa what maple syrup is to Canada: a unique and feel-good tradition. It is absolutely unique to South Africa and is grown in its natural state NOWHERE else in the world - only on the very southern tip of Africa! Incidentally, "Rooibos" is pronounced "roy-boss" and means "Red Bush" in the Afrikaans language.

The properties of Rooibos were discovered by the Bushmen who inhabited the Cederberg region of South Africa before the white and black men came to Southern Africa. They were excellent hunters and very knowledgeable about the uses of different plants and found that the fine, needle-like leaves of the "Aspalathus Linearis" herb made a tasty, aromatic tea. It was they who first harvested the wild-growing plants, chopped them with axes and then bruised them with hammers, leaving them to ferment in heaps, before drying them in the sun. Today Rooibos is still processed in much the same way, but of course the methods are certainly more mechanized and refined!

Initially Rooibos tea was used by the settlers as a cheap substitute for black tea, especially since black tea was very expensive in those days and Rooibos tasted much the same. In 1904, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian immigrant and trader, became interested in Rooibos and realized its potential. He started trading with the mountain people and selling it to Europeans. Ginsberg who was descended from a family who had been in the tea industry in Europe for centuries had good contacts and became the first exporter of Rooibos.

Since that time, the industry has made steady progress, refining its production methods and increasing distribution so that the unique goodness of Rooibos tea may today be enjoyed by people the world over. The tea is very well know in Germany and western Europe but is also becoming very popular in Japan and Malaysia where the remarkable properties of this tea are currently being researched. Rooibos is totally pure and natural. It contains no colorants or preservatives is extremly low in tannin and contains no oxalic acid.

Detailed research on the wonderful properties of Rooibos Tea has been done at a variety of institutions around the world. Results were published in several medical journals and periodicals over the years and suggest the following:

Rooibos is super high in anti-oxidants – Rooibos contains a number of powerful flavanoids and enzymes with antioxidant powers!

In the life cycle of normal tissue cells, oxygen molecules are present and useful. These oxygen molecules travel in pairs. Sometimes one of the pair will be used and the other is left alone. That lone oxygen molecule is called a "free radical". Free radicals easily attach onto cells causing an effect, much like that of rust, called oxidative damage, which can bring about intense cell damage and interferes with the cell's ability to function properly. Over time this may lead to cancer or cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Alzheimer's, or even AIDS. Antioxidants are cells that neutralize free radicals because they supply a positive charge to the unpaired oxygen so it cannot damage cells. This renders the free radical useless and the threat is gone. Antioxidants can also prevent oxidation by "guarding" or creating barriers around cell tissue and bonding with free radicals as they attack.

Rooibos is caffeine free. In recent years, there has been a move away from the stimulating effects of caffeine, the main alkaloid found in tea and coffee. High doses of caffeine, a powerful stimulant of the human central nervous system and the cardiovascular system, can cause loss of sleep, anxiety, tremors and abnormally rapid heart?action. Caffeine occurs in the seeds of the coffee plant (I to 2%), the kola plant (I to 3%) and in tea leaves (2 to 4%). It is also found in two South American stimulants which are used in the so?called "rave" culture, the leaves of mate and the seeds of guarana.

Rooibos contains several minerals including Calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and sodium, as well as trace elements such as copper, manganese and fluoride which are important in maintaining general health in this fast?moving pace of modern life.

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