Taste of Africa bushtea
We have developed our own bushteas together with local farmers in South Africa. Our bushtea is harvested sustainably on farms in the Cedarberg and the Langkloof mountains. These areas are the only places in the world, where the rooibos and honeybush plants grow naturally. The rooibos plant (Asphalatus linearis) and the honeybush plant (Cyclopia intermedia) are uniquely adapted to the area's very hot, dry and windy summers, and the crispy cold and rainy or even snowy winters.
It was the San bushmen that first made tea from the finest shoots of wild growing rooibos and honeybush. We designed our own bushtea labels, inspired by the bushman rock art, as a grateful tribute to the San bushmen who taught us so much without getting much in return.
We have been selling bushtea in Sweden since the start of Taste of Africa in 2004. Not many people knew then what it was! We were clearly one of the pioneers bringing it to Sweden. It's incredible how popular it has become! Bushtea is now shipped around the world, and becoming increasingly popular when the word is spread of all good things that come with bushtea. Beside the popular, rounded and never bitter taste, bushteas like rooibos, green rooibos and honeybush have high levels of antioxidants, no caffeine and very low levels of tannins. It is often spoken about as health bushteas. In 2014 rooibos was given a geographical indication, claiming the name 'rooibos' as unique for bushtea growing in the Cedarberg in South Africa. This is just like Champagne, that only can be produced in the region Champagne in France. For more information on rooibos history, cultivation and health properties, please take a look at the website of the South African Rooibos Council. It's an independent organization, responsibly promoting rooibos by research and communication. The picture below is from a rooibos plantation in the Cedarberg (original from https://sarooibos.co.za/).
Prepare your bushtea using a disposable tea bag or infuser, adding a table spoon of bushtea per cup and freshly boiled water. Please allow it some time (5 – 10 mins) to develop the more intense flavours. These all natural ingredient teas have no added flavourants and because of this, they need more time to develop than artificial teas. Relax and enjoy your cup of bushtea – cause you're worth it ;-)!
Zanzibar – rooibos with cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and black pepper
This spicy bushtea originates from Zanzibar, where every Café smells seductively of spices. This is our red chai, and is excellent for making a chai latte if you like.
Ingredients: dried leaves of rooibos (Asphalatus linearis), cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and black pepper. Contains no preservatives, flavourants or colorants. Will maintain its unique flavours and quality if kept in a cool and dry place. Please recycle the paper bag, remove the plastic labels before. Net weight: 100 g. Made in South Africa uniquely for Taste of Africa
Okavango – rooibos with zest from oranges and lemons and dried ginger root
This bushtea has fresh notes of orange and lemon zest, mixed with the rounded flavour of aromatic ginger. It's a wonderful healing tea for sore throats or just any other time.
Ingredients: dried leaves of rooibos (Asphalatus linearis), dried peel of oranges and lemons, dried ginger. Contains no preservatives, flavourants or colorants. Will maintain its unique flavours and quality if kept in a cool and dry place. Please recycle the paper bag, remove the plastic labels before. Net weight: 100 g. Made in South Africa uniquely for Taste of Africa.
Jinja – rooibos with stick cinnamon
This spicy bushtea has the character of a rounded gentle cinnamon tea, making it one of our most popular bushteas. We often use this bushtea when preparing our mulled rooibos at Christmas time (see recipe below).
Ingredients: dried leaves of rooibos (Asphalatus linearis), stick cinnamon. Contains no preservatives, flavourants or colorants. Will maintain its unique flavours and quality if kept in a cool and dry place. Please recycle the paper bag, remove the plastic labels before. Net weight: 100 g. Made in South Africa uniquely for Taste of Africa
Kalahari Red – natural rooibos
This premium quality bushtea is the base of all our flavoured teas. For you who love natural rooibos this is a wonderful tea – just like that.
Ingredients: dried leaves of rooibos (Asphalatus linearis). Contains no preservatives, flavourants or colorants. Will maintain its unique flavours and quality if kept in a cool and dry place. Please recycle the paper bag, remove the plastic labels before. Net weight: 100 g. Made in South Africa uniquely for Taste of Africa.
Kalahari Green – green natural rooibos
This premium quality bushtea has a shorter fermentation time, which is why it contains more antioxidants than natural rooibos. It is called green rooibos. The flavour is slightly 'fresher' than the standard natural rooibos.
Ingredients: dried leaves of rooibos (Asphalatus linearis). Contains no preservatives, flavourants or colorants. Will maintain its unique flavours and quality if kept in a cool and dry place. Please recycle the paper bag, remove the plastic labels before. Net weight: 100 g. Made in South Africa uniquely for Taste of Africa.
Outeniqua – natural honeybush
This premium quality honeybush comes from areas around Quteniqua mountains. The leaves and flowers are harvested together, bringing some nectar sweetness to the bushtea, hence the name Honeybush. The honeybush flavour is more robust than that of rooibos.
Ingredients: dried leaves of honeybush (Cyclopia intermedia). Contains no preservatives, flavourants or colorants. Will maintain its unique flavours and quality if kept in a cool and dry place. Please recycle the paper bag, remove the plastic labels before. Net weight: 100 g. Made in South Africa uniquely for Taste of Africa
Mulled bushtea
Our mulled bushtea brings that extra heat to your chest on a cold winter's day. We invented it ourselves, inspired by the Swedish tradition of drinking mulled wine, a widespread Christmas indulgement. Except our mulled bushtea is not as sweet, it's more like a tea, so you can serve it in larger mugs. We usually make two recipes that are equally popular with young children and grownups. The large quantity allows for sharing :-). Enjoy!
