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Rooibos
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Rooibos, (like "roy-boss"), Afrikaans for "red bush"; scientific name Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants.
The plant is used to make a herbal tea called rooibos tea, bush tea (esp. southern Africa), redbush tea (esp. UK), South African red tea (esp. USA), or red tea. The product has been popular in southern Africa for generations and is now consumed in many countries.
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Encyclopedia
Rooibos, (like "roy-boss"), Afrikaans for "red bush"; scientific name Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants.
The plant is used to make a herbal tea called rooibos tea, bush tea (esp. southern Africa), redbush tea (esp. UK), South African red tea (esp. USA), or red tea. The product has been popular in southern Africa for generations and is now consumed in many countries. It is sometimes spelled rooibosch in accordance with the Dutch etymology, but this does not change the pronunciation.
Production
Rooibos is grown only in a small area in the Cederberg region of the Western Cape province. Generally, the leaves are oxidised, a process often, and inaccurately, referred to as fermentation by analogy with tea-processing terminology. This process produces the distinctive reddish-brown colour of rooibos and enhances the flavour. Unoxidised "green" rooibos is also produced, but the more demanding production process for green rooibos (similar to the method by which green tea is produced) makes it more expensive than traditional rooibos.
Use
In South Africa it is more common to drink rooibos with milk and sugar, but elsewhere it is usually served without. The flavour of rooibos tea is often described as being sweet (without sugar added) and slightly nutty. Rooibos can be prepared in the same manner as black tea, and this is the most common method. Unlike black tea, however, rooibos does not become bitter when steeped for a long time; some households leave the tea to steep for days at a time. Rooibos tea is a reddish brown colour, explaining why rooibos is sometimes referred to as "red tea". Unlike some higher quality oolong or green teas, rooibos is often only good for a very limited re-steeping as there is a sharp drop off in brewing after the first infusion.
Several coffee shops in South Africa have recently begun to sell red espresso, which is concentrated rooibos served and presented in the style of ordinary espresso (which is normally coffee-based). This has given rise to rooibos-based variations of coffee drinks such as red lattes and red cappuccinos. Iced tea made from rooibos has recently been introduced in South Africa as well, and in Australia as Lipton "Red Tea, Rooibos & Guarana".
Nutritional and health benefits
Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves.
Rooibos is purported to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.
Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating infantile colic, allergies, asthma and dermatological problems.
"Green" rooibos (see above) has a higher antioxidant capacity than fully oxidized rooibos. It carries a malty flavour somewhat different from its red counterpart.
Grading
Rooibos grades are largely related to the percentage "needle" or leaf to stem content in the mix. A higher leaf content will result in a darker liquor, richer flavour and less "dusty" after taste. The high grade rooibos is exported and does not reach local markets, with major consumers being EU, particularly Germany, where it is used in creating flavoured blends for loose leaf tea markets. There are however, a small number of speciality tea companies within South Africa who are now producing similar blends.
History
Through the 17th and 18th centuries, European travellers and botanists visiting the Cederberg region in South Africa commented on the profusion of "good plants" for curative purposes. In 1772, Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg noted that "the country people made tea" from a plant related to rooibos or redbush.
Traditionally the local people would climb the mountains and cut the fine needle-like leaves from wild rooibos plants. They then rolled the bunches of leaves into hessian bags and brought them down the steep slopes on the backs of donkeys. The leaves were then chopped with axes and bruised with hammers, before being left to dry in the sun.
The Dutch settlers to the Cape developed rooibos as an alternative to black tea, an expensive commodity for the settlers who relied on supply ships from Europe.
In 1904, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian/Jewish settler to the Cape, riding in the remote mountains, became fascinated with this wild tea. He ran a wide variety of experiments at Rondegat Farm, finally perfecting the curing of rooibos. He simulated the traditional Chinese method of making very fine Keemun, by fermenting the tea in barrels, covered in wet, hessian sacking that replicates the effects of bamboo baskets.
In the 1930s, Ginsberg persuaded a local doctor and Rhodes scholar, Dr. le Fras Nortier, to experiment with cultivation of the plant.
Le Fras Nortier cultivated the first plants at Clanwilliam on the Klein Kliphuis farm. The tiny seeds were difficult to obtain, as they dispersed as soon as the pods cracked, and would not germinate without scarifying. Le Fras Nortier paid farmers to collect seeds. An aged Khoi woman had found a rather unusual source of supply. She came again and again, receiving a shilling for each matchbox filled with seed. She had chanced upon ants dragging seed one day, followed them back to their nest and, on breaking it open, found a granary. The attempts by Dr. le Fras Nortier were ultimately successful, which led Ginsberg to encourage local farmers to cultivate the plant in the hope that it would become a profitable venture. Klein Kliphuis became a tea farm, and within ten years the price of seeds soared to an astounding £80 a pound, the most expensive vegetable seed in the world. Today the seed is gathered by special sifting processes, and Klein Kliphuis is now a guest farm.
Since then, rooibos has grown in popularity in South Africa, and has gained considerable momentum in the worldwide market too. A growing number of brand-name tea companies sell this tea, either by itself or as a component in an ever-growing variety of blends.
The popularity of rooibos has also gained from its association with Precious Ramotswe, the Tswana detective in Alexander McCall Smith's series of novels about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Mma Ramotswe's favourite drink is red bush tea (rooibos), which she often promotes as a therapeutic drink to her friends and clients - and hence the readers of the books.
Trademark controversy
In 1994, Burke International registered the name "Rooibos" with the US Patent and Trademark Office, thus establishing a monopoly on the name in America at a time when it was virtually unknown there. When the plant later entered more widespread use, Burke demanded that companies either pay fees for use of the name, or cease its use. In 2005, the American Herbal Products Association and a number of import companies succeeded in defeating the trademark through petitions and lawsuits, and after losing one of the cases, Burke surrendered the name to the public domain.
Legal protection of the name Rooibos
If passed by the parliament of South Africa, the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill of 2008 will provide for the protection and restriction on commercial use of the name Rooibos in that country. Similar legislation (protection of the names Champagne and Port for example) already exists in Europe. This is despite Rooibos South Africa's decision to contest the Burke trademark on the grounds that "rooibos" is a generic term, rather than claiming it as a geographic indication.
See also
External links
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- - Discussion about Rooibos, 25 minutes into the show.
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