About Redbush Tea

Red bush, also called rooibos, tea is made from the leaves of a small shrub of the same name that is native to South Africa. Although it is classified as a tea, the plant is unrelated to Camellia sinensis from which black, green, white and oolong tea are derived. The rooibos herb has a long history of use in traditional South African medicine and has gained popularity in Europe and North America for its full flavor and long list of potential health benefits.

History

According to the website RooibosTea, the leaves of the rooibos shrub were originally used by the native Khoisans in the Cederberg region of South Africa as part of their traditional medicine. As the colonization of Africa progressed in the late 1700s, Dutch settlers adopted rooibos as a substitute to black tea, which was difficult and expensive for them to acquire. In the early 1900s, Benjamin Ginsberg began to market rooibos tea for the first time under the name Mountain Tea. Ginsberg's efforts opened the way to cultivation of the rooibos plant, which had previously grown wild.

Types

Rooibos tea is traditionally fermented, or oxidized. This process involves breaking the cells of the leaves and exposing them to oxygen, during which the naturally green leaves turn the distinctive red color that the tea is named for. Unfermented rooibos is also available and its favored by those who believe it has a higher concentration of antioxidants. A variety of flavored rooibos teas are also available. Unflavored rooibos has a naturally sweet, nutty flavor.

Nutritional Content

The assertion that unfermented rooibos contains more antioxidants was backed up by a 2003 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The researchers found that green rooibos displayed twice as much antioxidant activity as red rooibos tea. This antioxidant activity was measured in terms of the flavonoid concentrations found in each. Flavonoids are naturally occurring plant chemicals that protect the plant from viruses, bacteria and other threats. The flavonoids available in redbush tea include aspalathin, isoorientin, orientin, rutin, isovitexin, vitexin, isoquercitrin, hyperoside, quercetin, luteolin and chrysoeryol. Rooibos is also caffeine-free.

Potential Benefits

The rich supply of antioxidant flavonoids present in redbush tea shows potential in the prevention of cancer, heart attack, and stroke caused by free-radical damage. The fact that rooibos is free of caffeine and tannins while delivering antioxidants makes it a good option for tea drinkers who cannot have caffeine. Many other claims have been made regarding the benefits of rooibos tea, including its ability to fight allergies, colic, sooth digestive problems and promote sleep, but these claims are largely anecdotal and little or no research is available to support them.