Is rooibos tea caffeine-free?
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A Guide to Rooibos Tea
by Whittard of Chelsea•5 Minute Read
With its golden hue, warm woody fragrance and rounded vanilla flavour, rooibos tea is comfort in a cup. Keep reading as we answer all the big Rooibos questions...
Published . Reviewed
Published . Reviewed
We've all hurried over the word "Rooibos" before. But it's not as tricky to pronounce as you'd think - simply ignore the double "o" and say it as you see it, "roy-bos".
Cautious about caffeine? Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free, like all our fruit and herbal infusions (except yerba mate). So if you're cutting down, rooibos can be a delicious, comforting alternative to your favourite loose leaf tea.
No tea, no tannins. As rooibos doesn't contain any Camellia sinensis, there's no bitterness from a long brew, so the infusion time is up to you.
Want our take? Two teaspoons per cup, brewed in freshly boiled water for at least three minutes will help you maximise that warm, honeyed flavour. Add a splash of milk to taste - but serve our Rainforest Rooibos without to let those fruity flavours shine.
Known colloquially as tea, many people don’t know that rooibos is actually a herbal infusion. It’s harvested from the rooibos bush (Aspalathus linearis), and doesn’t contain any of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. Grown only on the Cederberg mountains in South Africa, rooibos bushes are 1-2m tall, with roots as deep as 20m – that’s how they reach water in the arid red soil.
Rooibos was a well-kept secret among bushmen for generations, but when seventeenth-century Dutch settlers developed a taste for it, the tea alternative began to gain popularity around the globe.
Red rooibos tea (sometimes called “red bush”) has distinctive needle-shaped leaves which are harvested, cut, crushed and oxidised – then dried in the sun to achieve that gorgeous rust colour and smooth, malty flavour.
The lesser-known green rooibos goes through a process akin to green tea – the leaves are heated so they don’t oxidise, leading to a fresh, verdant taste profile.
Since 1886, we have devoted ourselves to the art of the perfect blend. For over a century, our pursuit of taste has remained uncompromising, sourcing the finest ingredients from around the world.
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