Rooibos is a naturally caffeine-free herbal tea from the Cederberg Mountain region of South Africa’s Western Cape — one of the most geographically restricted crops in the world, growing only in this unique fynbos biome where sandy, acidic soils and the Cape’s Mediterranean climate create conditions found nowhere else on Earth. Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis, or red bush) is not a true tea — it contains no Camellia sinensis — but is brewed as one, producing a naturally sweet, earthy, smooth cup without caffeine or significant tannins.
The plant’s needle-like leaves and stems are harvested, bruised, and allowed to ferment (oxidize) in heaps — the same basic principle as tea oxidation — before sun-drying to the characteristic rust-red color and developing the vanilla-caramel, sweet, woody flavor profile.
In the cup, rooibos brews a deep, beautiful rust-red. The aroma is naturally sweet, slightly woody, and warm. The body is medium-light, the finish smooth and naturally sweet.
Use 2 grams per 8-ounce cup.