The herbal tea made from rooibos (pronounced Roy-Boss) has been a popular drink in Southern Africa for generations. The plant, Aspalathus linearis, is grown only in a small area in the Western Cape province of South Africa, but during recent years rooibos has become popular in other parts of the world as well.

There are two varieties of rooibos tea. One is referred to as red rooibos and the other is green rooibos. Typically, rooibos leaves are oxidized before they are used to make red rooibos tea. This process, gives them the familiar reddish-brown color and the slightly sweet taste. An alternative treatment of the leaves and twigs does not include the fermentation or oxidation step and produces what is referred to as green rooibos. The tea made from unfermented rooibos has a yellow tan color. The green rooibos tea possesses a milder taste.

Rooibos tea is a concentrated source of antioxidants and flavonoids. In fact, Rooibos tea has been found to have as much as 50 times more Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) than Green Tea. It also has other antioxidants not found in other teas like aspalathin and nothofagin. It is naturally mineral rich, caffeine free and has low tannin levels compared to black and green teas.

Drinking organic red rooibos tea has number of health benefits. Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating nervous tension, infantile colic, allergies, asthma and digestive problems. When applied externally rooibos can be helpful for a number of skin irritations like itchy skin, eczema, dermatitis, sunburns, diaper rash, acne and rosacea. The alpha hydroxy acid and zinc contained in Red Rooibos Tea promotes healthy, smooth skin.

Studies suggest rooibos has potent antioxidant, immune-modulating and chemopreventive effects. In addition, red rooibos tea has not been found to have any adverse effects. In another study normal healthy rats given rooibos tea instead of water had significantly higher serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels than the control rats. They also had less DNA damage and accumulate significantly less aging damage in the brain than rats given water. In fact, the 24-month old rats given rooibos tea for most of their lives had brains similar to young 5-week-old rats. Futhermore, when the rats were given dextran sodium sulfate to induce colitis, the rooibos group had higher SOD levels, and the drop in hemoglobin levels seen in the control group was prevented. Thus, rooibos tea seems to be anti-inflammatory and have the potential to prevent DNA damage.

Due to the effects of rooibos on vasodilation and vasoconstriction, angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and nitric oxide (NO) it has been used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure and heart failure. In one study, the effect of green tea, black tea and rooibos tea on ACE and NO was compared in healthy human volunteers. None of the three had a marked effect on NO concentration, but both green tea and rooibos tea inhibited ACE activity, suggesting that they have cardiovascular benefits.

Rooibos tea may help with diabetes as well. In a study on mice with type 2 diabetes, aslapathin suppresses the increase in fasting blood glucose levels. It also improves glucose tolerance, apparently through stimulating glucose uptake in muscle tissues and insulin secretion from the pancreas. So drinking rooibos tea during a meal may not be a bad idea.

Rooibos tea also has therapeutic potential for respiratory ailments. According to a study on rats, in addition to lowering blood pressure, rooibos tea is both a bronchodilator and an antispasmodic. This helps explain why rooibos tea is commonly used for gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. The flavonoid chrysoeriol seems to be mainly responsible for the bronchodilator and antispasmodic effect.

Unoxidised green rooibos tea contains more than twice the flavonoids as the oxidized red rooibos tea and 10 times the aspalathin and nothofagin. In the studies that have directly compared the two, the unoxidised green rooibos seems to generally come out on top. For example, unoxidised green rooibos tea seems to protect rats from liver cancer more effectively than the oxidized red rooibos tea.

Some possible benefits of our Organic Red Rooibos Tea may include:

● Eases irritability, headaches, nervous tension & insomnia
● Aiding in liver tissue regeneration after prolonged intoxication
● Alleviating allergies, asthma & hay fever
● Reducing eczema, sunburns, diaper rash, dermatitis, acne & rosacea when used externally
● Inhibiting lipid peroxidation
● Reducing digestive & gastrointestinal problems
● Suppressing fasting glucose levels
● Acts as an anti-spasmodic agent, to relieve stomach cramps & colic in infants
● Anti-aging properties
● Acting as an anti-inflammatory
● Improving glucose tolerance
● Acting as a bronchodilator & antispasmodic
● Preventing DNA damage
● Acting as as vasodilator improving circulation
● Normalizing blood pressure
● Boosting the immune system
● Promoting healthy smooth skin
● High levels of antioxidants: Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), aspalathin & nothofagin
● Improving glucose uptake & insulin secretion after a meals
● Cardiovascular protection through ACE inhibition
● Combating brain aging

Our Organic Red Rooibos Tea is sold as a loose tea.

Suggested Use: Steep 1 1/2 teaspoons of loose tea per cup in boiling water for 7 - 10 minutes. Rooibos does not become bitter if steeped for a long time.

Botanical Name: Asplathus Linearis

Other Names: red bush, red tea, rooibos tea, bush tea, redbush tea, South African red tea, red tea, rooibosch

Origin: South Africa - Certified Organic

Z Natural Foods strives to offer the highest quality organically grown, raw, vegan, gluten free, non-GMO products available and exclusively uses low temperature drying techniques to preserve all the vital enzymes and nutrients. Our Red Rooibos Tea is certified organic and passes our strict quality assurance which includes testing for botanical identity, heavy metals, chemicals and microbiological contaminants. ZNaturalFoods.com offers Organic Red Rooibos Tea packaged in airtight stand-up, resealable foil pouches for optimum freshness. Once opened, just push the air out of the pouch before resealing it in order to preserve maximum potency. Keep your Organic Rooibos Red Tea in a cool, dark, dry place.