Rooibos Loose Leaf Tea — Explore the full-bodied experience with the flavors of black tea without the caffeine.
Traditionally drunk by the region's Khoi peoples of South Africa, the "red-bush" infusion looks and tastes like black tea yet has no caffeine, is low in tannin, and is packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It is considered to be one of the world's healthiest herbals, and so deserves a category unto itself! Rooibos is actually a legume: a bean plant called Aspalathus linearis. The leaves and stems are harvested during the summer and then left to ferment (technically oxidize), a process in which, among other things, the leaves shift from a yellow appearance to the characteristic red color, then dried.
Because rooibos offers a full bodied tea experience in the cup, that you can add milk to, if you prefer, rooibos is often categorized as a decaf tea, even though no caffeine occurs in the plant to begin with. Tangy and sweet on its own, our Master Blenders blend with pure Madagascar Vanilla Bean to produce a creamy cup in our popular Organic Vanilla Rooibos offering; and in our ode to Tchaikovsky, rooibos provides the base in our sweet and fruity indulgent escape, Organic Sugar Plum Fairy, every holiday season.