Iced Rooibos Tea with Raspberries & Mint

Rooibos, which means Redbush, is a tea from South Africa, grown in the Cederberg in the Western Cape. It’s considered a herbal tea and if you drink it plenty of health benefits can be enjoyed.

Refreshing drink

Firstly, unlike green tea and black tea, it contains no caffeine and low tannin levels. Nutritionally, Rooibos contains, iron, calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, zinc, magnesium and polyphenols and more. This powerful concoction is a powerful remedy for an array of health problems such as helping small children with colic and adults with with severe abdominal pains. It helps to relieve stress, maintain a good bone structure and teeth, increases the good cholesterol in your body while inhibiting the bad one and treating allergies such as eczema and hay fever. The list is long and it’s well worth doing a few searches and reading more on the subject.

Bottled tea for picnics

More Cool Drinks to Enjoy

As a baby I had bottles and bottles of the stuff and to this day still shun tea and coffee. Rather obscurely, it’s become a litmus test in my dating life. My first boyfriend, who was a good guy, liked Rooibos. The second one, who turned out to be a bastard, initially pretended to like it until he turned his coat and reverted to stinky coffee. Another one, tried it once and said it tasted like something his grandmother would drink. I should have cut that relationship short right there on the spot. My current beau says it’s good. Let’s see if he can keep up the pretense or actually genuinely likes the tea. Only time will tell.

Bottled drinks

In fact, whenever possible I gently try to convert people to Rooibos. Each time I’m successful my heart flutters, and when I fail a tiny part of me dies and my opinion of the person goes a bit downhill. Who could possibly not like Rooibos?!?

Close up shot of bottled drink

Yet in the UK over the years I’ve seen more and more Rooibos brands pop up in supermarkets, indicating to me that there is in fact a demand for it and that’s very reassuring. After all, I’m Proudly South African.

Cold red bush tea