Green Rooibos

Green rooibos is a little know infusion but is definitely worth trying for its easy drinking, delightful qualities. Green rooibos does not marry as well with milk as red rooibos does. Red rooibos is traditionally drunk instead of black tea ( camellia sinesis), and has been marketed as a caffeine free alternative and this could partly explain why green rooibos is the lesser  known of the two types!

Both green and the more widely drunk red rooibos are made from the same hardy, broom—like bush called  aspalathus linearis. 

Rooibos, ( or red bush as it is known in Britain), flourishes on the slopes of the beautiful Cederberg mountains nestling on the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Traditionally used by the Khoisan  people the first recorded harvests collected from wild plants were by the Dutch in the 18th century. The plant is now commercially farmed and is a major industry in the region.

Green and red rooibos vary in just the same way as green and black tea, (camellia sinensis) does.  The production process for both green tea and green rooibos is shorter as the stage of enzymatic oxidisation is left out.  In other words red rooibos after being harvested is cut, bruised and laid out on massive open air courts and allowed to oxidise under the sun giving the infusion its deep rich red colour and rich spicy liquorice flavours. This particular stage is omitted from green rooibos production and yields a green, golden leaf with a more mellow, sweeter flavour with hay and wood notes.  Green rooibos is caffeine free and low in tannin, just as red rooibos is, but green is purported to have 10 times the anti-oxidants as red and twice the healthy flavonoids. 

Green rooibos is great for bed—time sipping just as red is great at the beginning of the day for a powerful taste kick in the morning.  Green rooibos is also extremely versatile as a base to experiment with for blending -try blending with liquorice and lemon verbena for a sweet and sour experience or try mixing with lavender,  camomile or rose buds to be transported to an English summer garden !

We are very enamoured with this infusion simply because of its ability to act as a base for other flavours.  At Dorothy’s Teas we sell a variety of blending ingredients including all the above and really encourage tea lovers to have a go for themselves !