Growing Rooibos (Redbush)

Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) is a shrub with soft needle-like leaves, growing in the magnificent Cederberg coastal mountains. It’s part of the fynbos (indigenous flora) of this region and contrary to popular belief is not a herb. In fact it’s more closely related to the pea and bean family and in the spring puts out tiny, yellow, pea-like flowers.

Growing in this mountainous area of South Africa and nowhere else in the world, rooibos flourishes because of the particular combination of climate and the specific ph balance of the well-drained, sandy soil. Like all good teas the best flavour comes from plants grown at a higher altitude.  Each summer harvest, the plants are cut with scythes, before being chopped - shorter for teabags and longer for loose leaf tea - and then cured in the fresh open air.

It’s a blend of experience and instinct that the tea maker uses when curing rooibos, to judge the colour change of the leaves and know at exactly which point they’re ready. He’ll know he’s spot on because the honeybees will arrive the moment the leaves start to give off their deliciously sweet scent.

You may also be interested to know that the art of the tea taster is as skilled as that of the wine taster, and a true master of his craft can even tell where on a particular mountain a batch of tea has been picked.

You also might have gathered that we care deeply about the people who have a part in growing and making our tea and so this is a fairly traded tea.