Rooibos
The caffeine-free alternative to black or green tea: the infusion drink made from the twigs of the rooibos or redbush plant, which only grows in South Africa, is considered to be particularly mild and easily digestible.
All about rooibos
Content: 70 gr. (€24.21* / 100 gr.)
Content: 50 gr. (€19.90* / 100 gr.)
Content: 28 gr. (€16.96* / 100 gr.)
Content: 70 gr. (€24.21* / 100 gr.)
Content: 20 gr. (€34.75* / 100 gr.)
Content: 50 gr. (€25.90* / 100 gr.)
Content: 28 gr. (€16.96* / 100 gr.)
Content: 28 gr. (€16.96* / 100 gr.)
Content: 50 gr. (€25.90* / 100 gr.)
Rooibos - an inconspicuous plant
with special characteristics
The rooibos plant is a small shrub that grows exclusively in the Suid Bokkeveld region of South Africa, where it was originally made into tea by the local Khoisan Bushmen. Dutch settlers copied this practice and began to cultivate the rooibos bush.
This rooibos or rooibos (German for red bush) is very idiosyncratic: the plant needs sandy soil and dry heat with cool nights in summer. In the colder seasons, the shrub must not receive too much rain, otherwise the three to four meter long roots will rot in the soil. Rooibos finds these exceptional conditions in the barren Cederberg Mountains, around 200 kilometers north of Cape Town. Or in almost identical sandy soils in this South African region on plantations where selected forms of Cederberg rooibos are cultivated. Attempts to grow and cultivate this "scrub" on other continents in similar mountain regions with comparable climates have failed.
The harvest is crushed
and left in the air to oxidize
During harvesting in South Africa, whole bunches of the delicate shoots covered with soft needles are cut off - even today often by hand with a sickle, because the bushes vary in height and the ground is uneven, even on the rooibos farms.
The processing is similar to that of black teas: the harvested crop is moistened with water, crushed and left in the air to oxidize, giving it its reddish-brown color. It is then gently dried. There are also unprocessed or less processed "green" rooibos varieties, which have a mild, grassy taste and tend more in the direction of green tea.
The global success of the desert shrub
began in the mid-90s
However, it took quite a while before rooibos began its worldwide triumphal march. It was only after the end of apartheid in the mid-1990s that international demand for the regional product rooibos tea increased. More than half of production is now exported, with Germany being one of the strongest sales markets.
The infusion drink with its earthy, nutty and slightly sweet taste is very popular here, especially as an alternative to black or green teas. Rooibos, which is often flavored with orange, vanilla or caramel, for example, contains neither caffeine nor tannins and is therefore considered to be particularly digestible. And: Rooibos is also ideal for cooking and baking, refines sauces, marinades, desserts or serves as a base for cocktails. You can find inspiration in our samova recipes.
At samova, green rooibos is used in our bestseller "Scuba Garden". The darker, oxidized variety is part of "Orange Safari" and "Karibu Sun".
