Rooibos Tea…. Red bush Tea… Same same

Hi! I’ve drank Rooibos tea for years, but when my (very English) friend recommended red bush tea, I was gobsmacked!

I did not know what it was until I did a bit of Google-ing, Bing-ing and other search engine-ings.

I am a fan of this tea since I was 15, when my mum introduced it to me as the plant that makes bones stronger.

Indeed, Rooibos tea, thanks to its high concentration of Calcium, Flouride and Manganese, helps strengthen bones and teeth. My mum really hoped it would help my parodontosis (genetically transmitted disease of the gums) but tough mum, that’s on you.

Other than this, Rooibos tea is rich in polyphenols – organic chemicals praised for their antioxidant properties. These polyphenols act as scavengers throughout the body, “feeding” on cancer cells and others that don’t belong inside you- awesome right?!

Because of these polyphenols, Rooibos tea is antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic.

Apply it on skin and relieve acne, pimples and sunburn. How?!? Well it’s because Rooibos tea contains Alpha Hydroxy Acid (an acid that is widely known for fighting the appearance of wrinkles – wink wink, ladies) and Zinc. Now these two components are rarely found in natural products, that’s why rooibos tea is so special.

If your baby has colics or you just happen to have bad cramps, ta ta daaaam – Rooibos to the rescue! I kid you not, it works!

I mentioned that my friend recommended this but I didn’t say why. Here it goes – to stimulate lactation.

I had just had my baby, I was under a lot of stress and my milk started to run dry when I found Rooibos tea. It did help and I was able to elongate breastfeeding for about a month until mother nature decided to take it away from me for good – I’ll never forgive her.

The heart of the tea is in the plucking, the soul of the tea is in the steeping.

Earlene Grey

Although there are no special indications about brewing Rooibos, the steeping process is crucial!

In tea shops they recommend you let it sit for 3-5 minutes, but little do they know that if you steep it for 5 – 10 minutes you get a cup full of antioxidants at their best!

You can add milk and honey to make it more palatable – just don’t forget, never add honey in water hotter that 60 degrees (read my previous posts to find out why, no one likes to repeat themselves).

These being said, I really do hope you’ll try it without milk and honey because it is tea-licious!

With red hot love, Ale.