Rooibos Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Genus: Aspalathus Species: A. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Magnoliopsida is the Botanical name for a class of Flowering plants By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its Fabales is an order of Flowering plants It is included in the rosid group of the Eudicots in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of Flowering plants which is commonly known as the legume family, pea linearis Binomial name Aspalathus linearis (N. L. Burm. ) R. Dahlgr.

Flowers

Plant

Green rooibos tea

Rooibos, (pronounced /ˈrɔɪbɒs/, like "roy-boss"), Afrikaans for "red bush"; scientific name Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like member of the legume family of plants and is used to make a tisane (herbal tea). Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in Brooms are a group of Evergreen, semi-evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the Legume family Fabaceae Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of Flowering plants which is commonly known as the legume family, pea An herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is an Herbal Infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the Tea bush ( Camellia Commonly called South African red tea or simply red tea or bush tea, the product has been popular in South Africa for generations and is now consumed in many countries. Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa It is sometimes spelled rooibosch in accordance with the Dutch etymology, but "roy-boss" remains the correct pronunciation. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname

Contents 1 Production 2 Use 3 Nutritional and health benefits 4 History 4.1 Trademark controversy 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Production

Rooibos is grown only in a small area in the Cederberg region of the Western Cape province. The Cederberg Mountains and Nature reserve are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. ^[1] Generally, the leaves are oxidized, a process often, and inaccurately, referred to as fermentation by analogy with tea processing terminology. Tea processing is the method in which the leaves and flushes from Camellia sinensis are transformed into the dried leaves for brewing Tea. This process produces the distinctive reddish-brown color of rooibos and enhances the flavour. Unoxidized "green" rooibos is also produced, but the more demanding production process for green rooibos (similar to the method by which green tea is produced) makes it more expensive than traditional rooibos. Green tea is a type of Tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal Oxidation during processing

Use

In South Africa it is more common to drink rooibos with milk and sugar, but elsewhere it is usually served without. The flavor of rooibos tea is often described as being sweet (without sugar added) and slightly nutty. Preparation of rooibos tea is essentially the same as black tea save that the flavour is improved by longer brewing. Black tea is a variety of Tea that is more oxidized than the Oolong, green, and white varieties The resulting brew is a reddish brown color, explaining why rooibos is sometimes referred to as "red tea". Rooibos translates to "Red Bush" in Afrikaans, a South African language descended from Dutch. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname

Several coffee shops in South Africa have recently begun to sell red espresso[1], which is concentrated rooibos served and presented in the style of ordinary espresso (which is normally coffee-based). Red espresso is made by expressing Aspalathus Linearis commonly known as rooibos (or "red" tea, through an Espresso machine. Espresso or caffè espresso ( often mispronounced as expresso) is a concentrated Coffee beverage brewed by forcing very hot water This has given rise to rooibos-based variations of coffee drinks such as red lattes and red cappuccinos. A latte (also referred to as a caffè latte) is a type of coffee drink made with hot Milk. Cappuccino is a Coffee -based drink prepared with Espresso, hot Milk, and steamed milk foam

Nutritional and health benefits

Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves. An antioxidant is a Molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules Aspalathin is a C -linked dihydro Chalcone Glycoside found in Rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis) Nothofagin is a C -linked dihydro Chalcone Glycoside found in Rooibos and Nothofagus fusca (the New Zealand red beech Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline Xanthine Alkaloid that acts as a Psychoactive Stimulant Drug and a mild Diuretic Tannins are Astringent, bitter plant Polyphenols that either bind and Precipitate or shrink Proteins The astringency from the tannins is what Green tea is a type of Tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal Oxidation during processing "Green" rooibos (see above) has a higher antioxidant capacity than fully oxidised rooibos.

History

Although rooibos was first reported in 1772 by botanist Carl Thunberg, the Khoisan people of the area had been using it for a long time and were aware of its medicinal value^{[2]p. Early life Thunberg was born at Jönköping, and became a pupil of Carolus Linnaeus at Uppsala University. Khoisan (increasingly commonly spelled Khoesan or Khoe-San) is the name for two major Ethnic groups of Southern Africa. 52}. The Dutch settlers to the Cape adopted rooibos as an alternative to black tea, an expensive commodity for the settlers who relied on supply ships from Europe. Black tea is a variety of Tea that is more oxidized than the Oolong, green, and white varieties Until the 19th century, however, Dutch usage of the tea was minimal.

In 1903, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian settler to the Cape and descendant of a famous tea family, saw potential in rooibos and began trading with the local Khoisan people who were harvesting it. Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian pioneer in the Cedarberg region of the Cape South Africa, perfected the curing of Rooibos ( Red Bush) tea He sold his "Mountain Tea" to settlers in the Cape and shortly became the first exporter of rooibos using contacts from the family tea business.

In the 1930s, Ginsberg convinced a local doctor and Rhodes scholar, Dr. Peter Nortier^{[2]p. 52}, to experiment with cultivation of the plant. Dr. Nortier cultivated the first plants at Clanwilliam on the Klein Kliphuis farm, owned by W. T. Riordan, a retired magistrate. The tiny seeds were difficult to obtain, as they dispersed as soon as the pods cracked, and would not germinate without scarifying. Dr. Nortier paid farmers to collect seeds. An aged Khoi woman had found a rather unusual source of supply. She came again and again, receiving a shilling for each matchbox filled with seed. She had chanced upon ants dragging seed one day, followed them back to their nest and, on breaking it open, found a granary^{[2]pp. Ants are social Insects of the family Formicidae and along with the related families of Wasps and Bees belong to the order A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or Animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries Pottery is the most 53-4}. The attempts by Dr. Nortier were ultimately successful, which led Ginsberg to encourage local farmers to cultivate the plant in the hope that it would become a profitable venture. Klein Kliphuis became a tea farm, and within ten years the price of seeds soared to an astounding £80 a pound, the most expensive vegetable seed in the world. Today the seed is gathered by special sifting processes, and Klein Kliphuis [2] is now a guest farm.

Since then, rooibos has grown in popularity in South Africa, and has gained considerable momentum in the worldwide market too. A growing number of brand-name tea companies sell this tea, either by itself or as a component in an ever-growing variety of blends.

The popularity of rooibos has also gained from its association with Precious Ramotswe, the Tswana detective in Alexander McCall Smith's series of novels about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Precious Ramotswe is the fictional protagonist in The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith Tswana ( Motswana, plural Batswana) is the name of a Southern African people Alexander (RAA "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, (born August 24 1948 is a Zimbabwean born British Writer and For the first book in the series see The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (novel The No Mma Ramotswe's favourite drink is red bush tea (rooibos), which she often promotes as a therapeutic drink to her friends and clients - and hence the readers of the books.

Trademark controversy

In 1994, Burke International registered the common name rooibos with the US Patent and Trademark Office, exploiting its status as virtually unknown in the US to establish a monopoly on the name in America. The United States Patent and Trademark Office ( PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues Patents to When the plant later entered more widespread use, it attempted to force companies to either pay fees for use of the name, or cease its use. After a decade, the American Herbal Products Association and a number of import companies finally succeeded in defeating this trademark through petitions and lawsuits, causing Burke to "voluntarily surrender" the name to the public domain after losing one of the ongoing cases. ^[3]

See also

• Honeybush

References

External links

• Trade Environment Database entry on "rooibos" name dispute in US
• South African Medical Research Council research findings

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