The story behind the Rooibos tea

Origin

The Organic Rooibos of Essentials Tea comes from Citrusdal, South Africa. Citrusdal is a small village near the Cedar Mountains where most of the world's rooibos comes from. It is located about 200 km north of Cape Town. This part of the Cedergebergte is known for its ultimate terroir to grow the most delicious rooibos.

The rooibos is produced and processed locally. Because our supplier is not only good at producing, rooibos from other plantations in the area is also processed here. As a result, they have built the best possible chain in which quality, but especially the well-being of the workers, is central. Currently, there are about 626 employees, who all have their own share in the company and are therefore, to a small extent, co-owners and also profit from all the rooibos that is sold. Of course, their families (about 5,000 people) also benefit and part of the proceeds are used for social projects and education. For the children of the employees, there is even a primary school on the premises. So with a cup of Essentials Tea rooibos you also support the local employees. In addition to their organic certification, our supplier is also Fair Trade certified.

This rooibos is praised by our guests for its great taste and smoothness. This is due to the combination of long cut rooibos and stokkies rooibos that has been chosen. This gives this tea a nice, round and slightly sweet taste, but at the same time has wonderfully soft woody notes.

TeaNatural & Organic

Aspalathus Linearis or Rooibos is a plant of the butterfly flower family. This plant occurs naturally as fynbos (as the local plantation in South Africa is called) in the Cederberg area.

Because Rooibos does not come from the tea plant (Camellia Sinensis), it cannot officially be called tea, but is called an infusion or tisane. The plant is difficult to cultivate in other places. Despite attempts to cultivate it in America, China and Australia, among other places, all these experiments have failed.

The plant flowers around October with small yellow flowers. When the plant is 18 months old, it can be harvested. The plant is at its most fertile after 3 years and can become about 7 years old. Harvesting takes place in the months of February and March when it is late summer in South Africa. The branches of the bush are then cut with a sickle.

After this the bundled branches are put through a kind of chipper. The rooibos is then crushed by driving over it with a large roller. This ensures that the juices are better released, which starts the oxidation process. This oxidation process gives the green needles of the plant their well-known brick red colour. To promote this process, water is added to the heap regularly for 8 hours. The moisture and the heat of the sun cause the whole to start heating.

After heating, the rooibos is spread out on large concrete slabs so that it can dry. The next morning everything is swept together.

Tea

After collection, the red bush is sent through a system of pipes through which hot steam is blown under high pressure in a very short time. This process is called sterilisation.

What many people do not know is that there are a number of different grades of rooibos. After sterilising, the rooibos is sieved and divided into as many as 7 different grades. However, we basically distinguish 3 main grades: short cut rooibos, long cut rooibos and sticky rooibos.

As you might guess, the latter is derived from the Dutch word stokjes, or twigs. These are the thicker parts of the plant. This rooibos is of exceptional quality and has a somewhat softer woody flavour.

Short cut and long cut rooibos have a somewhat sweeter flavour and consist mainly of the oxidised needles of the rooibos plant. Long cut is considered to be the very best type of rooibos available. And it has a nice round taste. After many tests we at Essentials Tea have chosen for a mix of long cut rooibos and sticks. We found that this mix gives the most beautiful taste nuances. A nice combination of the slightly sweet taste of the high quality long cut rooibos and the deliciously soft, slightly wooden taste of the sticksies.

Fact: The name Rooibos has been protected since 2013.

TeaRooibos and health

Organic rooibos is a very healthy variant of tea. It is full of antioxidants that help protect the body against external influences.

Rooibos does not contain caffeine (theine) and can therefore be enjoyed by children. This also makes it an excellent drink to have before going to bed. Furthermore, it is a source of vitamin C and contains many minerals, potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, copper, zinc, fluoride, manganese and iron.

It is therefore conducive to sleep and aids digestion. It also contributes to the formation of collagen, which is important for the blood vessels and helps to take care of the skin from the inside. The drink is traditionally used as a sedative for the body and mind and has a calming effect on the nervous system.

"Quality is in the love and attention paid to the production of our ingredients. We select our suppliers for that and you can taste that love in your cup."

Kind regards,
Bas Aerts | Founder Essentials Tea

Would you like to enjoy an extensive High Tea? With delicious organic tea, savoury & sweet bites? Come along one time and let us pamper you.

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