Green rooibos tea (or raw rooibos) is an herbal tea made from a small bush that grows in South Africa. It is the form of rooibos tea that has a very low fermentation or no fermentation at all. Its taste is slightly more sharp than the red rooibos.

Green rooibos is not a green tea!

Green tea is made from the plant Camellia sinensis and green rooibos is made from Aspalathus linearis.  Also as you know green tea contains caffeine and peoplehave to be careful with the intake. Unlike it – rooibos teas are caffeine freewhich makes them perfect for drinking in the evenings and that’s not all.

Antioxidants in Rooibos:

The rooibos teas are full of antioxidants, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and can help to promote relaxation and better sleep. Because of the polyphenols in the leaves – the tea is very good at reducing the stress levels in our bodies. Even though both – green and red rooibos are made from the same plant – the raw one is richer in antioxidants. Consider them like black and green tea – healthy beverages from the same bush, but the chemicalcomposition in each of them is different. Only green rooibos tea is enriched with two very important antioxidants – nothofagin and aspalathin.

Let’s take a look at each of them:

Only red beech from New Zealand and rooibos plant contain nothofagin. Although the high amounts in green rooibos are considered very useful when it comes to treating vascular inflammation in diabetics – be careful when drinking it. If taken with medicines – both teas may interact with them and lead to side effects or even make some conditions worse. Be careful!

As for aspalathin –it is a powerful antioxidant that has the potential to improve lipid and glucose metabolism. Moreover it is very beneficial for fighting with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, mellitus and obesity. In fact some studies show that it could be used as prevention for stress-induced weight loss.As you can see there are plenty of good reasons to drink rooibos tea.

How to prepare it?

Brewing doesn’t demand too much skill or time – it is really easy. Just one teaspoon per cup of water – that’s enough. Use almost boiling water and brew it for 5 to 10 minutes. Don’t worry if you steep it a bit longer, it won’t affect the taste or make it bitter. In fact, to extract more nutrients, it is recommended to steam a little longer.Both red and green rooibos are great hot and as iced tea. The green one is best to drink pure or with a small spoon of honey if you prefer your tea sweetened. The red one combines great with milk, but also has a lightly sweet and earthy flavor when enjoyed pure.