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No. 102

Organic Rooibos - Loose Leaf Tea

South African Herbal Tea

Rich in antioxidants and caffeine free, our loose-leaf Organic Rooibos is robust yet soothing, making it equally ideal as either a breakfast or a bedtime brew.

From: Western Cape Province, South Africa

LOOSE LEAF TEA
Delivery Info

Shipping policy

 

 UK Deliveries

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

£3.50, Free - over £35

Royal Mail

2-5 days, Tracked

Tracked

£6.50, Free - over £100

DPD

1-3 days, Tracked

Next-Working-Day

£9.95

DPD

Orders placed before 2pm, Delivered Monday - Friday, Tracked

Saturday

£15.00

DPD

Orders placed before 2pm, Saturday delivery, Tracked

 *Most deliveries will be made within the usual time frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

 

European Deliveries


Currently, there are some delays with sending parcels to EU countries from the UK. This is due to the UK leaving the European Union. We will keep you updated with any notifications as they happen.

Please note that a tracking number is not provided for EU Standard deliveries. 

CUSTOMS CHARGES: All commercial goods arriving from the UK are subject to VAT, Import Duty and a handling fee in the country receiving the goods.

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

From £5.50

Royal Mail

3-7 days, up to 21*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

Economy

From £5.50

Royal Mail

3-7 days, up to 21*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

Tracked

From £15.95

Fedex

3-5 days, up to 8*, Tracked

*Most deliveries will be made within the usual time-frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

Customers Ordering From Ireland - Please Note: Due to recent restrictions we are unable to ship Chinese teas to Ireland at this present time.

 

Rest of the World

 

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

From £4.00

Royal Mail

8-15 days, up to 30*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

USA tracked

From £15.00

Fedex

2-3 days, up to 7*, Tracked

ROW Tracked

From £18.95

Fedex

1-5 days, up to 5*, Tracked

 *Most deliveries will be made within the usual time frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

 

International Buyers (Including EU) – Please Note:


Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be before buying.

Customers Ordering From Ireland - Please Note: Due to recent restrictions we are unable to ship Chinese teas to Ireland at this present time.

If you have any questions, please contact us via sales@theteamakers.co.uk | 01322284923

*We aim to dispatch all orders within 1-2 days of receiving your request. However, this can vary during peak times and other conditions outside of our control. Therefore, the below estimates of shipping times have been provided by our couriers.

The origins of our Organic Rooibos South African herbal tea


Grown in South Africa, our Organic Rooibos loose-leaf tea is a full-bodied infusion with tangy, sweet notes that make it an ideal alternative breakfast tea. Despite its dark orange colour and caramel aroma, this healthy tea is low in tannins and is naturally caffeine free, so it can also be enjoyed by the entire family, and drunk late in the evening as a soothing bedtime brew.

With its rich flavour, velvety mouthfeel and creamy finish, our Organic Rooibos tea is delicious on its own, although some people do like to add a splash of milk, a slice of lemon or a little honey to taste. Characterised by deep reddish-brown, needle-like leaves, this rooibos – 'red bush' in Afrikaans – is produced to the highest organic standards in the Western Cape, with the leaves lightly oxidised to enhance the tea's natural earthy, nutty qualities.

Learn more about Rooibos and its health benefits


What is rooibos tea?


Technically not a tea but a herbal tisane, rooibos is unique to South Africa, harvested from the leaves of the endemic Aspalathus linearis bush – totally unrelated to the Camellia sinensis plants used for traditional teas.

While there's some evidence of the indigenous Khoi and San peoples of South Africa utilising rooibos bushes for thousands of years, it was first recorded as being fermented, brewed and drunk as a tea by 18th-century European settlers. Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg identified it in 1772, and in 1904 Russian immigrant Benjamin Ginsberg started trading what was then referred to as 'mountain tea' – after its natural home in the rugged Cederberg region of the country's south-west.

By the 1930s, commercial production had begun, and in the 1960s the tea's health-boosting properties began to be widely recognised, largely due to their promotion by Annique Theron, who used rooibos to help treat her sick child. Today, rooibos is known around the world, and no self-respecting South African would be without a caddy in their kitchen.

Despite being exported on a global scale, the method used to produce rooibos has changed little since the early days. The branches bearing the needle-like leaves are cut by hand, then bruised, sprayed with water and left in piles to ferment. As the leaves oxidise, turning them from green to the famous red colour, they are spread out under the hot sun to dry before being collected up for grading and processing.


The health benefits of rooibos


Rooibos is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and several antioxidants, including aspalathin – which research shows may help balance blood sugar and therefore reduce the impact of diseases such as diabetes. Other antioxidants found in rooibos, such as quercetin and luteolin, have been associated with helping to prevent tumour growth, while its flavonoid content may help reduce the 'bad' LDL cholesterol associated with heart disease. In addition, rooibos has been linked with anti-inflammatory properties and improved digestion, bone and skin health. Plus, as a certified organic tea, our rooibos is free from harmful pesticides and other chemicals, so you can enjoy a cup knowing that all you're drinking is goodness.


Alternatives to rooibos


For a sweeter take on this South African staple, try our Organic Vanilla Rooibos, made with natural vanilla pieces and equally full of goodness. African honeybush meets Indian spice in our warming Chai of Madagascar, and while we're on a more wintry theme, check out our Turmeric Spice herbal tea blend – a light, a nutritionally rich infusion perfect for giving your body a boost through the colder months. Alternatively, for those who wish to experiment with this already delicious tea, try producing this loose leaf as an iced tea.

Discover the full range of The Tea Makers of London herbal teas in our Tea Shop.

Ingredients


Organic South African Rooibos

Tasting notes


This tea offers honeysuckle, dried cherry aroma and bright orange infusion. A soft and creamy textured cup with caramel sweet mouthfeel.

Region


The Western Cape province is the Southernmost landmass of the African continent, an L-shaped province extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, with 400km of coast along the Atlantic Ocean and 500km eastward along the Southern Indian Ocean.

Learn more about Western Cape Province, South Africa

The topography of this large province is exceptionally diverse, semiarid plateaus in the central part, rocky escarpments at the northern boundary and spectacular coastlines of sandy beaches and rocky capes. The climates are just as varied. The coastal areas experience a temperate oceanic climate, whilst the regions inland experience semi-arid (hot or cold) or cold desert (Bwk) climates.

Rooibos comes from Cederberg, a mountainous municipality 300km north of Cape Town, along the Atlantic Coast. The elevation there ranges from 800 to over 1,800m above sea level. The climate there is hot, semi-arid (BSh), with hot or extremely hot summers (December to February in the southern hemisphere) and warm to cool winters (June to August), with minimal precipitation and usually clear skies.

The quantity of arable land is limited by both the terrain and the climate, so agricultural production is marginal. Rooibos tea, however, is the area’s most famous produce, as well as fruit tobacco, wine and proteas. The region is home to leopards, caracals, meerkats, mongooses, antelopes and zebras, as well as numerous birds, smaller mammals, reptiles and insects.

How to brew

2 - 3g

2 - 3g

100°C

100°C

200ml

200ml

2 - 3mins

2 - 3mins

Organic Rooibos - Loose Leaf Tea has a rating of 4.9 stars based on 101 reviews.