Where Does Rooibos Come From? The History of South Africa's Red Tea

Most of the world's tea comes from one plant grown across Asia and Africa. Rooibos is different. It is not tea at all, and it grows naturally in just one small corner of the world: the Cederberg mountains of South Africa's Western Cape. Its story is younger than that of Chinese or Japanese tea, but it is just as interesting.

This article is part of our series on the history of tea.

What Is Rooibos?

Rooibos (say ROY-boss) means "red bush" in Afrikaans. The plant, Aspalathus linearis, is a shrub with fine, needle-like leaves that turn a deep red-brown when they are cut, bruised and left to oxidize. Because it is not related to the tea plant, rooibos is naturally caffeine free and low in tannins, which gives it a smooth, sweet, slightly nutty flavor that rarely turns bitter.

The plant is fussy about where it lives. It needs the sandy, acidic soil, hot dry summers and wet winters of the Cederberg and the area around the town of Clanwilliam. Attempts to grow it elsewhere have mostly failed.

The Khoisan and the First Rooibos

The first people to use rooibos were the indigenous Khoisan of the Western Cape. They climbed into the mountains to cut the wild bushes, chopped the leaves, bruised them with hammers, left them in heaps to oxidize and dried them in the sun. They used the brew as a remedy and a daily drink.

European visitors took note. The Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg wrote about local people brewing the plant during his travels at the Cape in the 1770s. Later, Dutch settlers began drinking it as a cheaper substitute for the expensive black tea shipped from Asia.

1904: Rooibos Becomes "Mountain Tea"

Rooibos stayed a local drink until the early 1900s. In 1904, a Russian immigrant named Benjamin Ginsberg, whose family had been in the tea trade, became interested in the "bush tea" he found in the Cederberg. He bought it from local harvesters, experimented with ways of curing it, and sold it as "Mountain Tea." He is often called the father of the rooibos trade.

The Seed Problem

All of that early rooibos was picked from wild plants, and by the late 1920s demand was outgrowing the supply. Nobody had figured out how to farm it.

The breakthrough came from Pieter le Fras Nortier, a doctor in Clanwilliam and a keen amateur botanist. Around 1930, he began experimenting with growing rooibos from seed. The seeds were tiny and hard to find, and Nortier reportedly paid local villagers five pounds for a single matchbox full of them. He discovered that the seeds need their hard outer coat scratched before they will sprout. Working with local farmers, he turned rooibos into a crop that could be planted in fields. He is now widely seen as the father of the rooibos industry.

Rooibos Goes Global

Over the following decades, rooibos became South Africa's national drink and slowly found fans abroad, especially in Europe. Its popularity grew fast from the 2000s, as more people looked for caffeine-free drinks with real flavor.

Two newer styles also appeared. Green rooibos is dried quickly without oxidizing, so it stays green, with a lighter, grassier taste. And rooibos became a favorite base for blends, since its natural sweetness pairs well with fruit, vanilla, spice and flowers.

A Protected Name

Like Darjeeling tea or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, rooibos now has a protected name. After a long dispute with an American company that had tried to trademark the word, South Africa protected the name rooibos in 2013. In 2021, the European Union gave rooibos Protected Designation of Origin status, which means only rooibos grown in its home region of South Africa can be sold under that name in the EU. It was the first African food to earn that status.

The industry has also started to recognize where rooibos came from. Under a 2019 agreement, the Khoi and San people receive a share of the price paid to farmers for rooibos, in recognition of their traditional knowledge of the plant.

Honeybush: Rooibos's Cousin

South Africa has a second native herbal tea. Honeybush comes from shrubs in the genus Cyclopia, which grow in the mountains of the Western and Eastern Cape. Its flowers smell of honey, and the tea has a naturally sweet, fruity flavor. Like rooibos, it is caffeine free.

Why Rooibos Fits Portland Evenings

Portland's dark winter evenings start early, and a lot of us want something warm in hand long after it is too late for caffeine. That is exactly where rooibos shines. It tastes rich and comforting like black tea, holds up well to milk, and will not keep you awake. For more on what it can do for you, read Rooibos Tea Benefits.

To brew it, use boiling or near-boiling water, around 205°F, and steep for 5 to 7 minutes. Because rooibos has so few tannins, a long steep makes it fuller, not bitter.

Our Rooibos and Honeybush Teas

Coconut Cream Lavender Rooibos

South African rooibos with coconut, cream caramel and lavender petals. Creamy, floral and soothing, hot or iced.

Tropical Sunshine Green Rooibos

Green rooibos with sea buckthorn, pineapple, guava, carrot, sunflower and marigold. Bright, fruity and great iced.

Sleepy Night Tea

A bedtime blend built on a rooibos base.

Sleep Support

Chamomile and rooibos with peppermint, tart cherry, kiwi, cranberry and a touch of coconut.

Immunity Support Tea

Ginger, rosehips, tulsi and hibiscus on a caffeine-free rooibos base.

Caramel Almond Apple Tea

Honeybush with apple, almond and caramel. Like dessert in a cup, with no caffeine.

Shop Coconut Cream Lavender Rooibos

Steep intentionally. Sip with intention.

Related Reading

Go back to the full History of Tea, or keep exploring with Rooibos Tea Benefits, Best Tea for Sleep and Caffeine-Free Teas for Any Time of Day.