Greetings tea students. I know we have talked about the health benefits of tea (especially green tea) quite a bit, but we speak about it at such length because it seems every day new health benefits are being discovered.
And today, as the fall weather starts to set in, and the temperature starts to change, it is possible that you might find yourself sniffling a bit. The weather changes affect many peoples’ bodies. So it is an excellent time for me to inform you that tea can help your allergies.
Part 5: Rooibos Tea
As you may know, on your path to Tea Enlightenment, I, Master Amanzi have offered you many tea tips. Most recently, I have been explaining about the different kinds of tea. I have told you about the four types of tea: white tea, green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. Since these are actually made from tea leaves, technically, these are the only kinds of tea. But there are other tea-like beverages that are called tea. Since the Way of Tea is open to all, I will explain a bit about them as well. Today we shall talk about rooibos tea.
As I have said, rooibos tea, also called “red tea” or “redbush tea,” isn’t actually tea at all. Rooibos, (pronounced “roy-boss”), is Afrikaans for “red bush;” it’s made from the leaves of a legume bush that grows in South Africa. It is prepared just like tea and is thus considered a member of the tea family, but since it is not from Camellia Sinensis leaves, it could at best be considered a distant cousin.
