Green Rooibos is made from the same plant as traditional Rooibos. The only difference is in the processing. For traditional Rooibos, the green leaves and stems of the plant are crushed and “fermented” before drying. The fermentation step is actually an oxidation process brought about by enzymes and chemicals naturally present in the plant. In the case of Green Rooibos, the fermentation process is skipped, and the “green” leaves and stems are dried directly. Different processes are used to prevent oxidation. When you brew Green (unfermented) Rooibos as an infusion has a lighter tan/yellow colour than fermented Rooibos and a very mild “green” taste reminiscent of green tea.

Green Rooibos has higher levels of antioxidants than traditional fermented Rooibos and demonstrates even higher antioxidant and – in some cases – antimutagenic (cancer-fighting) activities.

Green Rooibos is not a Green Tea.  Green Tea comes from the Camellia sinensis bush but Green Rooibos comes from the African Aspalathus linearis bush.  

Green Rooibos provides many health benefits.   Research suggests it can improve heart health by lowering blood pressure. It may also lower "bad" cholesterol and raise “good” cholesterol in people who are at risk of heart disease. Unlike Green Tea, Green Rooibos tea is 100% caffeine-free and very low in tannins.  Green and Black Tea are both very high in tannins, natural compounds that interfere with the body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients such as iron.

How you drink your Green Rooibos Tea is a matter of personal choice.  Most people steep their Green Rooibos tea for 4-5 minutes in hot water.  This produces a deliciously light cuppa with a lovely mellow taste that exhibits a slight natural sweetness.  

Regular Green Teas and Black Teas can be a little bitter and astringent because they have high levels of tannin.  If you steep these teas for longer this releases more tannins and makes them more bitter and astringent. Green Rooibos is low in tannins so steeping it for longer will create a stronger, more flavorful beverage, without bitterness.   

Rooibos is unique and rare.  It grows wild in the Cederberg Mountains a couple of hours north of Cape Town – and nowhere else.  The hot and dry summers, winter rainfall and coarse sandy soil are ideally suited to the Rooibos plant.

The indigenous people have used it to brew tea for as long as anyone can remember.  In more recent times local farmers attempted to cultivate it as a crop.  This proved exceedingly difficult but they eventually succeeded.  This combination of distinctive ecosystem and specialist knowledge means that all the Rooibos in the world, including Green Rooibos, comes from one tiny community in South Africa’s Western Cape. 

Yes, Green Rooibos is a pure and natural product as it contains no colourants, additives or preservatives.

No, Green Rooibos is naturally sugar free and has no calories or kilojoules.

True tea is prepared from the cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis.  Rooibos, and Green Rooibos, is not a true tea, but a member of the legume family.  When you brew Green Rooibos the result is, strictly speaking, a herbal infusion (known as a tisane).  This matters if you are a tea aficionado - but as far as most people are concerned it is Green Rooibos tea.

Rooibos provides income and employment to more than 5000 people in the Cederberg region.  The annual crop earns an estimated R500 million per year.  Most Rooibos farms provide housing and schooling for the local people who work on the Rooibos farms. 

What’s more, the industry as a whole pays 1.5% of the value of each year’s crop to the indigenous Khoi San people who used the plant for hundreds of years before it began to be cultivated on a large scale.  This payment usually amounts to roughly $650,000 a year.

This is a matter of personal taste. But some people do prefer to add sugar or maybe honey.  Again, adding milk is a matter of personal preference.

Yes, just brew as normal and then chill it.  Or cold brew it (see below).

You just steep some Green Rooibos tea bags in a pitcher of cold water for about 12 hours in a refrigerator then enjoy as delicious iced Rooibos. 

Same process as cold brewed but you leave the pitcher in the sun for a couple of hours, then chill or serve with ice.

You bet!  Just use your imagination or whet your appetite with the smoothie ideas on our blog.

You can use any of our teas in your smoothies, just swop out for the variety you have. 

Organic Green Rooibos is grown without the use of any artificial fertilisers or pesticides. The organic status of the product is monitored by various international organizations that provide organic certification.  Rooibos Rocks is certified organic and non-GMO by the US Department of Agriculture.