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Organic Rooibos

Silky smooth body and no astringency with notes of apricot and honey

fair trade certified certified organic
Organic Rooibos
$3.00
Orders over $60 ship free in USA
 
 
 
 
 

Organic Rooibos

Backyard Compostable Tea Packaging

Our organic, Fair Trade Certified rooibos (pronounced ROY-bus) is an herb native to the beautiful Cederberg region of South Africa. Our superior grade rooibos has small needle-like leaves that yield a dark red infusion with notes of honey, apricots, and mesquite wood and contains no caffeine.

The tasty aromatic infusion of the wild Aspalathus linearis plant was commercialized at the turn of the 19th century. It was originally harvested by hand, chopped with axes, and bruised with hammers then left to ferment before drying in the sun. Now, due to demand, rooibos is cultivated rather than collected from the wild. Rooibos seeds are planted in February and March and tended for 18 months, after which they are harvested. Cut rooibos is bound and milled to a uniform length then bruised between rollers to trigger the fermentation process and finally dried in the sun, which results in its characteristic flavor and sweet aroma.

Ingredients: organic and Fair Trade Certified South African rooibos

Origin: Driefontein Co-op, Cederberg, South Africa

Organic Rooibos from Redelinghuys, South Africa

Rooibos only grows in the mountainous Cederberg region 400 miles north of Cape Town on the western edge of South Africa. The Cederberg Mountains are famous for their dramatic, wind-carved sandstone formations like the Maltese Cross and the Wolfberg Arch, well-preserved prehistoric rock paintings by the early San people, and the rare Clanwilliam Cedar trees from which the area takes its name. Arable land is limited by the altitude, dry climate, and rocky terrain of this area. Rooibos is the most famous export, though fruit, tobacco, honeybush, and grapes are also harvested on some farms.

The Driefontein Small Farmers Co-op is located near Redelinghuys in the heart of rooibos country. The 36 members have been operating as a farming cooperative since 2010. Their success has hinged on their considerable knowledge of rooibos - handed down from one generation to the next - coupled with their deep love of the land they farm. Although the 110 hectare farm is currently owned by a private landowner and leased to Driefontein, they're currently saving up to purchase the land outright. The Driefontein Small Farmers Co-op has used their Fair Trade premiums to fund retirement benefits, housing improvements, education, and more. In fact, in 2011 Driefontein was able to send their community's first student to college using funds from their trust.

Steeping Instructions

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At Arbor Teas, we believe tea should be brewed to suit your personal taste. We’re happy to make recommendations to get you started, but don’t hesitate to experiment! When brewing your tea, your main considerations are tea quantity, water temperature, and steeping time. We recommend herbal and rooibos teas to be steeped for 5 to 7 minutes in water heated to a full rolling boil. For the best flavor, use fresh water whenever possible, and avoid overboiling. If you want a stronger brew, just use more tea. And don’t forget to re-steep your tea leaves to get the most out of your leaf!

Looking for more info? Check out our How-To Guides and Eco-Brewing Tips!

Staff Perspectives

  • Sarah

    "This Rooibos is so juicy! It is sweet like honey, with a warm cinnamon aftertaste. Very comforting!"

  • Jeremy

    "Rooibos is just as versatile as tea for flavoring and blending, and can be a nice, caffeine-free change of pace."

  • Aubrey

    "I like rooibos as a base for flavorings, because it has no astringency and leaves a sweet, slippery feeling on my palate."

Health Benefits

Health Benefits of Rooibos

Rooibos (aka “red tea”) boasts an array of beneficial health properties. Like true tea, rooibos has a high concentration of antioxidants, and is the only known source of aspalathin, a particularly potent antioxidant. Green rooibos tends to have even higher levels of antioxidants than red rooibos, but both have enough to measurably raise the levels of antioxidants in the blood. Rooibos is also rich in flavonoids; compounds likely to have anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial benefits. Lastly, rooibos is low in tannins, making it less bitter than true tea.

For more information about the health benefits of Rooibos, and for direct sources of the above information, check out our Rooibos Health Benefits page!

Please note: the information above is for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Rooibos Recipes

Customer Reviews

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  • 5
    Love

    Posted by Haley on 6th Jan 2024

    Love this tea on its own or as a base for various blends. I will make a decaf chai by mixing this with a chai spice blend I have or throw in some rose petals or other herbs for a floral mix.

  • 5
    Favorite Iced Tea

    Posted by Michelle on 7th May 2021

    The best way to make iced tea is to cold brew rooibos. Bold flavor and clean finish!

  • 5
    Rooibos

    Posted by Carly B on 12th Jan 2021

    My boyfriend loves this tea! It’s a bold, delicious flavor, without being too over-the-top. I bought it for the health benefits, but we’ll also be drinking it for the great taste

  • 5
    High Quality Rooibos

    Posted by Emily Yocom on 14th Oct 2020

    I ordered a sample size of this because I’d never had red rooibos before (only green) and wanted to compare. While I definitely prefer the green variety, I did enjoy this one as well. You can tell it’s high quality by the flavor, it’s quite robust and “deep,” if that makes sense. It’s nice for nights when I want something with a full flavor profile instead of a light herbal tea, but I don’t want caffeine so late in the day. Definitely a good alternative to caffeinated black teas!

  • 5
    Delicious Red Rooibos

    Posted by Edi Seals on 17th Aug 2019

    I love the flavor of this red rooibos. I enjoy it plain and also adding it to black tea and/or chamomile for extra flavor and antioxidant boost.

  • 5
    Best Rooibos Ever

    Posted by Abbey Lacy on 27th Jan 2019

    My first rooibos was in South Africa, it was amazing. And then I ordered this, I was blown away by the flavor and quality. Everyone should try this tea. Perfect for an afternoon pick-me up (or any time really).

  • 4
    Great Rooibos

    Posted by Debbie on 12th Nov 2017

    This was my first experience with Rooibos. The first pot I believe I made to strong, but after cutting back a bit the taste was much more appealing and a beautiful red color. I read quite a bit about the wonderful benefits of this herb and decided to try it. A very unique taste and worth a try.

  • 5
    Excellent Eco-Friendly Iced Tea!

    Posted by Paula on 6th Jun 2015

    I made eco-friendly iced tea with this and let it sit in a Mason jar in my fridge for 10 hours. Then I strained out the tea and added a little sugar syrup to it and it was the most delicious iced tea! No bitterness, but it had a very lovely and strong flavor. I had never tried rooibos tea before. I am in love! I will definitely add this to my regular tea drinking routine.

  • 5
    Very Good Tea

    Posted by Susan on 17th Aug 2014

    I mixed with Lavender Flowers for a unique taste. It also has some great health benefits which are not mentioned on this site. Very good tea and will be purchasing again in the future.

  • 5
    Great For Lovers Of Strong Tea

    Posted by Janet Binion on 22nd Apr 2014

    If you love strong tea as I do and want to brew a strong, non-caffein beverage, this Organic Rooibos is for you. This was my first foray into the Rooibos world, and I was not disappointed by this hearty, earthy beverage.

  • 5
    Earthy and smooth! Try it with apple chips!

    Posted by Yen-Wen C. on 6th Mar 2014

    It doesn't take much tea to brew a pot! The tea is naturally on the stronger side to us. We cut half of the amount and it worked out great! It's earthy and slightly sweet. We add a little honey... lovely taste! Since this tea is not flavored, while we were drinking we had some baked apple chips in hand, so we add little apple pieces to it and let it sit for a while (=let the apple hydrate with tea) The tea is really yummy with a little sweet apple twist!!!! The apple tastes so good with a hint of tea! Win win!!

  • 4
    An interesting flavored tea

    Posted by dimitra on 17th Feb 2013

    I found this tea to have quite a distinct, strong flavor, worth trying if you are looking for an herbal tea. It has a earthy, slightly smokey flavor. I also find it complements the herbal crimson tea as well (will steep 1/2 tsp of each).

  • 5
    Good quality and amazing taste

    Posted by Alise on 10th Dec 2012

    When there are so many delicious flavored Rooibos teas out there, plain old Rooibos tends to get overlooked. Don't overlook this one! This is simply amazing. It has a warm, slightly sweet, ever so slight spice undertone and is exceptionally smooth. You can mix this with lemonaid for that popular iced half and half blend. Also, Rooibos is rich in the antioxidant compound quercetin which imparts benefits to the heart, helps to reduce the risk of various types of cancers, fights viruses and is significantly anti-inflammatory. This is just the tip of the iceberg so to say when it comes to health benefits of this awesome tea. If you do a bit of research I'm sure it will be one of your favorites too. It tastes delicious and is good for you. One of my favorites for sure!

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