Serving Rooibos

Rooibos tea can be prepared and served as any other tea, but it can also be used in many different applications.
It can be served with or with-out sugar, milk or cream, hot or iced, as a blended tea, or as the basis for a fruit punch or even a soup.

Rooibos is also a meat tenderizer and can be used in marinades and sauces as a replacement for water or other liquids.

Do not throw away unused Rooibos. Rooibos will not turn bitter if it is left to cool down.
It makes an excellent iced tea and can also be reheated and served as normal.
(Please use thermal heating as we do not recommend the use of a microwave oven as some of the antioxidants will be destroyed in the microwave heating process.)

Rooibos can be applied topically to the skin as it is a beauty enhancer.
It can also be used on skin irritations or in a face-pack

More recipes can be found in ROOIBOS REVOLUTION -Recipes for Nature's Healing Tea, that was written by Sally Errey, a Registered Nutritional Consultant, and specialist in cancer management and prevention. She is well known in Canada and is an international acclaimed speaker on optimal health, disease prevention and healthy living. The new book is published in Canada and was adapted for the local North American public.

To make Rooibos tea:

We recommend that Rooibos tea should be steeped or brewed for a minimum of 5 minutes to release the flavor and the valuable antioxidants and minerals.
Experts suggest that brewing Rooibos for 10 minutes or longer will increase the antioxidant content of the tea by 30%.
After this, the tea can be used immediately or stored.
It can be reheated or cooled without any effect, as the tea is very low in tannins and will thus not turn bitter as normal coffee and tea would.

One Rooibos tea bag contains 2.5 grams of leaves and is enough for two cups of tea.

Two Rooibos tea bags will make 1 liters of Rooibos tea that can be served hot.

Three bags will make 1 liter of strong Rooibos that can be served cold or mixed with other drinks or foods.

To make Iced Rooibos:

3 Rooibos teabags

100 to 200 g sugar or honey depending on taste

25ml lemon juice (one lemon’s juice)

Iced cubes

Prepare 1 liter of strong Rooibos (by steeping 3 bags in 1 liter of boiling water for more than 10 minutes).

(sugar or honey can be added to the warm Rooibos if a sweetened iced tea is required).

Remove the teabags and allow it to cool down.

Add lemon juice.

Chill and serve with ice cubes, garnished with fruit slices and mint.

Will serve 8 glasses of 150 ml.

To make a Quick and Healthy Orange flavored Rooibos drink:

3 Rooibos teabags

One can of Concentrated Orange Juice (341 ml Frozen and unsweetened)

Iced cubes

Prepare 1 liter of strong Rooibos (by steeping 3 bags in 1 liter of boiling water for more than 10 minutes).

(sugar or honey can be added to the warm Rooibos if a sweetened drink is required).

Remove the teabags and add the frozen orange juice.

Stir and add ice (2 to 3 trays of ice will be enough to cool down the tea and dilute the concentrate)

Serve immediately with more ice cubes, garnished with fruit slices and mint.

This mix can also be served later but then we recommend that you add less ice and let it cool down normally.

Will serve 12 glasses of 150 ml.

To make a fruit drink or punch:

3 Rooibos teabags

100 to 200 g sugar or honey depending on taste

1 liter fruit juice

1 liter soda water

4 fresh fruits or two cans of fruit, pulped, sliced or diced.

Lemon, cherries and mint for garnish

Iced cubes

Prepare 1 liter of strong Rooibos, remove the 3 teabags and allow it to cool down.

Add fruit juice and sliced or pulped fruit .
(Apple, mango, peach, orange, berry, pineapple, granadilla, or grape)

Chill mixture and add 1 liter of soda water before serving.

The soda water can be substituted with ginger ale lemonade or sparkling fruit juice.

To make an alcoholic punch, substitute the soda water with sparkling wine.

Garnish with lemon, halved cherries, chopped mint or slices fruit.

Will serve 20 glasses of 150 ml.

To make Sangria:

3 Rooibos teabags

420 g or 500ml castor sugar or honey

2 apples diced

2 lemons, peeled and dices

2 oranges, peeled and diced

2 bottles red wine (750ml)

250 ml brandy

1 liter soda water

Prepare 1 liter of strong Rooibos.

Dissolve 500ml castor sugar or honey in the warm Rooibos tea

Remove the 3 teabags and allow it to cool down.

Add apple, lemon and orange pieces, wine and brandy.

Chill mixture and add 1 liter of soda water before serving.

Garnish with lemon or apple slices.

Will serve 26 glasses of 150 ml.

To make Gluhwein:

2 Rooibos teabags

120 g or 125ml sugar

Rind of 1 lemon

2 cinnamon sticks

10 ml ground cloves

1 bottle red wine (750ml)

Prepare 0.5 liter of strong Rooibos using 2 teabags.

Add sugar , lemon rind, cinnamon and cloves and boil the Rooibos mixture for 2 minutes.

Add red wine and bring mixture to boiling point.

Remove tea bags, cinnamon and lemon rind.

Will serve 8 glasses of 150 ml.

Spicy chicken or turkey with Rooibos Tea:

3 Rooibos tea bags

� liter boiling water

2 chicken stock cubes

1 large onion, chopped or sliced

25 ml freshly grated ginger

3 garlic cloves, crushed

25 ml coriander seeds, crushed

500 g almonds, ground

75ml vegetable oil

8 chicken or turkey portions

� liter sour cream or yogurt

25 ml brown sugar

salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Prepare 0.5 liter of very strong Rooibos using 3 teabags.

Dissolve chicken stock in hot tea and let it stand.

Blend onion, ginger, garlic, coriander and a bit of Rooibos tea to a smooth pasta.

Add almonds and mix thoroughly.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Add spice and nut mixture and saut� for 5 minutes.

Add meat portions one at a time, coating them with the oil-spice mixture.

Fry meat for 15 minutes on moderate heat turning every 3 minutes

Remove the tea bags from the tea stock mixture and pour over the chicken/turkey.

Stir occasionally while letting the mixture simmer for 30 minutes.

Add cream and sugar and let it simmer for a further 20 minutes

Test the meat for tenderness and flavor with salt, ground pepper and nutmeg.

Serve on rice or with freshly baked bread

Serves 8, depending on the size of the portions.

To make a filling soup:

6 Rooibos tea bags

6 chicken stock cubes

30 ml cooking oil

2 cloves of garlic

2 large onions, chopped

250 g bacon, chopped

3 carrots cut in rings

4 potatoes, diced

250 g green beans, cut in 1 cm pieces

250 g broccoli, broken

30 ml tomato paste

salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

50 ml parsley, chopped

Prepare 2 liters of strong Rooibos tea.

Dissolve chicken stock in tea.

Crush garlic and saut� with onion in heated oil in a deep saucepan.

Chop bacon and add to garlic and onion. Stir-fry slightly.

Add carrots, potatoes, beans, broccoli and tomato paste. Sir-fry slightly.

Add Rooibos and chicken stock mixture and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

Test vegetables for tenderness and flavor with salt and spices.

Garnish with parsley and ground pepper and serve with bread.

Serves 8

To thicken this soup:

Mix 50ml cake flour with milk or water and mix into heated soup.

Keep on stirring until soup thickens

To serve soup chilled, try the following:

Substitute the beans and broccoli with one can of chopped mushrooms or asparagus tips

Ensure that other vegetables are fully cooked.

Let the soup cool down and refrigerate over night.

Add 250 ml cream and 50 ml sherry before serving

Garnish with fresh parsley, chives and whipped cream

To make a Rooibos face-pack:

50 ml strong Rooibos tea

5 ml apple cider vinegar

30 ml flour

Mix ingredients and let it cool down to lukewarm.

Apply to your face

Keep mixture on for 10 minutes

Wash of with more Rooibos tea.

Rinsing with water is not necessary as Rooibos will not stain the skin.

Repeating this once or twice a week will leave your skin clear and radiant