Red tea is a name commonly associated with two kinds of teas. The name red tea refers to the tea resulted from the red bush or rooibos, a South African plant that has come to gain a lot of popularity in the west because of its properties, which, while similar to those or regular tea, seem to be more accessible to the general public because the plant's lack of caffeine. While the denomination of red tea attributed to the rooibos is not accepted by tea purists, it has come to be popularly embraced by the general public. The objection to the rooibos being called red tea comes from the fact that the plant is not precisely a tea, because it does not belong to the Camellia Sinensis family and also from the fact that the Asian name for red tea is attributed to another tea product. In Asia, the name red tea is commonly given to what the western world knows as black tea. The Chinese call the infusion of oxidized tea leaves red tea because of its brown-red color.
Rooibos is a plant growing in South Africa, where it had been used to create infusions for hundreds of years, but it has only become known in the west during the second world war when the trade routes with Asia were cut off, therefore making it hard for the tea shipments to travel to the west. As a replacement for regular tea needed to be found, the rooibos infusion came into play and never left. The pleasant taste and substantial health benefits of consuming the rooibos infusion have given its popularity a whole new dimension in recent years, when, due to the increasing concern for the ingestion of healthy foods and with the spreading of the responsible diet trend, the demand for this red tea has increased substantially.
The red tea plant is not dissimilar to the tea plant (and the harvesting and oxidation process of the red bush leaves are quite similar to those of regular tea), containing a large amount of natural antioxidants, but the main difference, and something that recommends it above all else is the plant's complete lack of caffeine. The lack of caffeine in its composition makes this drink far more suitable for children and the elderly than other kinds of tea would be, solving a problem many had tried to solve by attempting to decaffeinate green tea.
Red tea is often used in combination with the honeybush plant, a plant similar in attributes, but with a sweet, caramel-like taste, which helps in completing the taste palette of the rooibos. Rooibos can be found in a multitude of other combinations, either with other healthy plants or with fruit and other flavoring agents. The taste of the red tea on its own is sweet with a slightly citric tinge and the infusion can often be consumed without sugar. Regardless of how you choose to consume this drink, however, the health benefits that the use of red tea brings are undeniable.
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Red tea is a name commonly associated with two kinds of teas. The name red tea refers to the tea resulted from the red bush or rooibos, a South African plant that has come to gain a lot of popularity in the west because of its properties, which, while similar to those or regular tea, seem to be more accessible to the general public because the plant's lack of caffeine. While the denomination of red tea attributed to the rooibos is not accepted by tea purists, it has come to be popularly embraced by the general public. The objection to the rooibos being called red tea comes from the fact that the plant is not precisely a tea, because it does not belong to the Camellia Sinensis family and also from the fact that the Asian name for red tea is attributed to another tea product. In Asia, the name red tea is commonly given to what the western world knows as black tea. The Chinese call the infusion of oxidized tea leaves red tea because of its brown-red color.
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