What is rooibos tea?

Whether you use it as a tasty base for a tea latte, drink it with milk and sugar, or simply enjoy steeped leaves ‘black’, rooibos is a tasty caffeine-free alternative to black tea or coffee.

With famous fans including Oprah Winfrey, Simon le Bon and Trevor Noah, and immortalised in the pages of Alexander McCall Smith’s book series, The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, it’s safe to say that rooibos tea has secured its place in our hearts (and cupboards)!

In this article, we look at where rooibos tea comes from, the benefits of drinking red bush and why it is not actually a tea…

Rooibos is a popular and delicious herbal tea made from infusing water with the leaves and fine stems of the South African Aspalathus Linearis (A. Linearis) plant.¹   That said, as rooibos does not derive from the Camellia Sinensis plant (from which green and black teas are made), it is technically a tisane (herbal infusion) rather than a ‘true tea’.

Rooibos tea is made from the leaves of the A. Linearis shrub which is unique to the Cedarberg mountains in South Africa. It is also commonly referred to as red bush tea, which is a translation of the Afrikaans name for the shrub; rooi meaning ‘red’ + bos meaning ‘forest, bush, shrub’.⁴

Although red bush has only been used in commercial tea production since the 1930s, the plant has been cultivated and harvested by indigenous bushmen (the KhoiSan people) of the Cederberg region of South Africa for centuries.⁵

The people of the Cedarberg region also called rooibos naaldetee (meaning ‘needle tea’) previously. However, this name has since faded into obscurity.⁶

Rooibos tea gets its name from the rooibos shrub from which it is made. Interestingly, the leaves of the rooibos plant are actually green but turn a deep dark red through oxidisation – hence the traditional Afrikaans name for the shrub, rooibosch (meaning redbush).  

Rooibos is the sole natural known source of the polyphenol flavonoid aspalathin, and one of two naturally occurring sources of another polyphenol, nothofagin.⁷

Polyphenols are common in plants and serve several functions. These include:⁸

Rooibos tea is a brilliant naturally caffeine free alternative to your usual black tea or coffee. Many people nowadays try to limit their caffeine intake or go completely caffeine free for a multitude of reasons. Whether you are looking to improve your quality of sleep, to reduce anxiety or even improve gut health, cutting out the caffeine might be the right choice for you.^15,16,17

Unlike green and black tea, red bush tea contains virtually no tannins (4.4%).¹⁸  Tannins are a type of polyphenol found in many plants and other organic matter, and are considered responsible for the somewhat bitter taste and astringency associated with many teas.¹⁹

Due to its low levels of tannins, rooibos is a great choice if you are looking for a milder tasting tea.

While it’s wise to practice caution with what you eat and drink during pregnancy, rooibos tea is one of several types of tea widely considered safe to consume during pregnancy.

Current NHS guideline suggest limiting your daily caffeine intake to 200mg per day while pregnant, so if English breakfast and coffee are your go-to choices you may have to look for low caffeine alternatives!²²  As rooibos is naturally caffeine-free, it’s a brilliant pregnancy-safe alternative to your usual pick me up.