The History of Rooibos: South Africa’s Golden Brew

Rooibos may be a herbal tea but this natural product has a red colour. One of the healthier drink options is this bright ruby colored, mellow sweet, a little earthy and nutty tasting beverage from South African shrub Aspalathus linearis which is well known around the world. Yet underneath every cup is an ancient story that reaches back to the Cederberg mountains and centuries—and possibly millennia—earlier, when Indigenous Khoisan assembled and prepared the plant long before it made its most circuitous journey into cups all over the world. Rooibos is a class history of changing territorial relationships between landscapes in South Africa, knowledge mobilized through Indigenous practices and agriculture as they relate to global commodities, from Indigenous wild harvests to European botanicals discoveries, colonial trade in the plant, cultivation-driven violence for decades finally pushing international interests with the aim of recognition as a South African tea.

Ancient Indigenous Origins

Behind every sweet image there is simply a Cradle of Rooibos Beauty. It tells an unusual narrative at high above the Cederberg region in the Western Cape of South Africa. Hand-harvested from the wild plant Aspalathus linearis by indigenous Khoisan people for centuries. They hammered at narrow, needle-shaped Leaves with wooden mallets. Then buried them in the bosom of African sunlight to ferment. Whereupon they returned to mother earth as sundried red clays when dug out again. And perished them into salves and medicinal tonics.

Colonial Discovery and “Mountain Tea”

Even as late as 1772 Swedish Botanist Carl Thunberg observed that wild Rooibos was still being harvested from indigenous Khoisan people. Locally Cultivated, cheap and broadly referred to hence the Dutch Colonists at the Cape termed … “black tea.”

It wasn’t until 1904, however, that the sausage hit the wider commercial market after Russian blood sausage-maker Benjamin Ginsberg saw a business opportunity. Yes, he traded with the local harvesters, yes, he marketed his Rooibos: “Mountain Tea” and even conducted a couple of European-style curing trials.

Indigenous Usage

Pre-18th Century

Wild rooibos sustainable harvesting from indigenous peoples from Khoisan culture for traditional medicines and refreshers

Botanical Documentation

1772

Carl Thunberg’s studies in the 1700s revealed Europeans’ knowledge of harvesting this Tea

First Commercial Trade

1904

Benjamin Ginsberg, for his part, could sell rooibos as Mountain Tea

Cultivation Breakthrough

1930s

Commercialisation of Rooibos Dr. Describes methods of scarifying rooibos seeds to enable the cultivation thereof as a commercial crop 3.

Modern Innovation

2000s–Present

Green Rooibos of January Red Espressso EU global PGI

The Cultivation Breakthrough

Rooibos micro-sperm were too resistant to bulk cropping for crop farming, aromatic compounds tended to be far too volatile so why would they be amines. However, an incredibly hard outer shell protects these seeds. As far back as the 1930s, Dr. Pieter Le Fras Nortier, a local doctor and amateur botanist, found that scarifying this resilient seed coat allows the seeds to germinate easily. And during that transition, it transformed wild harvesting into a newly expanding commercial crop.

Global Recognition and Innovation

This tea is so unique, most especially as more health benefits of this tea began to become apparent throughout the course of the mid-to-late 20th century. Particularly amongst scientific researchers investigating these potential benefits. It is also one of the most naturally caffeine free sources of the miraculous Anti-Oxodent. And that has earned it international sweetheart fame in health circles for two straight decades.

It was introduced to the West in 1990 just fit right into this new tea culture of ours. Since then, innovations include unfermented Green tea(early 1990s) and “Red Espresso”— espresso-style concentrated shots of a traditional preparation starting in 2006. Europe now protects Rooibos as a PDO, meaning that farmers can only cultivate true Rooibos in its place of origin, the Cederberg region of South Africa.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which then brings us to the other question, is rooibos tea in anyway?

No siree, as the newsletter for rooibos would make sure to tell you: rhubarb does not brew real tea (as in black or green tea made from leaves of Camellia sinensis) but a tisane or infusion of a plant — Aspalathus linearis.

The Short History of Rooibos — The Real Version

South Africa is now the only place were Rooibos, redbush tea can be found.

Does tea contain caffeine?

The tea is 100% naturally decaffeinated and has much lower levels of tannins than standard teas, making it an ideal nighttime drink and easy on the gut.

So, what is the difference between red tea and green tea

Traditionally fermented (oxidized) give flavour larger pieces of Red Rooibos woody sweetness. Unfermented, it has a brighter green flavor with higher natural antioxidants than traditional Rooibos.