Rooibos Tea Time
Friday, January 20, 2006 7:33
A few years ago, I had the chance to go to Botswana. One of my fond memories is enjoying tea with our meals. One of the tea bags came from a box that said, Rooibos (pronounced “Roy-boss”) tea. It had a mild but distinctive and refreshing taste. Before I left, Botswana, while waiting for our flight from Maun, I found a grocery store and got a couple of big boxes of the tea.
Eventually, I began to wonder if I could find some here in Los Angeles.
Hah!
We live in the brave new world of globalization. Of course, I could find some. All I had to do was go to Ralphs (and I’m sure there are many other types of stores that carry Rooibos). The photo is from a box of tea I bought from Ralph. And below is a picture of the deep reddish brew you get.
I also went to the internet and found many web sites selling the stuff. I bought some from Specialteas.com. I’ve gotten some Egyptian Chamomile from them and love it. I was pretty confident that the Rooibos would be terrific. Thus, all I had to do was look at the tab to find they have Rooibos and Honeybush.
Indeed, it was wonderful. I have to say the loose tea from Specialteas.com is much more flavorful and more like what I got from Botswana than the tea bags I got from Ralphs.
The history and health benefits of Rooibos can be found here.
Enjoy!
By Rene (see more of his posts). You can find more of Rene's writing at his own website Rene's Ramblings
Jonah says:
January 20th, 2006 at 8:03 am
My first taste of Rooibos was from my father in law who got some in South Africa years ago. My wife swears by the Rooibos Tea Lattes at the Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood.
Cathy says:
January 20th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
I like to buy Rooibos tea at a shop on Fairfax Blvd (just south of Melrose) called The Rooibos Tea House
VeggieGal says:
January 20th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
It’s amazing how the popularity of Rooibos has grown in just the past 5 years. Not too long ago you couldn’t find Rooibos many places, but now because of the tea craze, you can get lovely teas in the most unlikely places. Yay for tea!
Rene says:
January 21st, 2006 at 9:59 am
Thanks Cathy for the tip on Rooibos Tea House. Its right in my neighborhood so I’ll have to check it out and stock up!