Rooibos

Rooibos, an African slang word of Dutch origin meaning “Red Bush”. Rooibos tea has a sweet and nutty taste, and contains no colours, additives, preservatives, or caffeine. Most of the tea is picked manually. The tea is
then bruised and cut. At this stage Rooibos is still green. Fermentation is essential in order to enhance the flavour of the tea. Rooibos is fermented in mounds and then spread out to dry in the sunlight. Fermentation turns the
tea red. Rooibos’s nickname red bush does not apply to a live plant since it is green until after it is fermented. In the final process Rooibos is sterilized by steam, dried in commercial dryers, sifted and packaged.