Rooibos Redbush Fire Tea

Rooibos gets an extra jolt here from red safflower and a hit of fresh orange, and the citrus is the whole point: bright, zesty, upfront rather than background. Underneath sits the familiar rooibos character, a soft red note that carries through the whole cup once the citrus fades. Pour it and you get a deep red liquor with golden highlights, which matches the flavour well. Rooibos itself comes from the Cederberg region of South Africa, where the Khoisan first gathered the plant, using it as a herbal remedy long before it became a drink people simply enjoyed. Its path since then hasn't been smooth. Colonisation disrupted the communities who first worked with it, and the plant nearly slipped out of use altogether. A botanist named Carl Humberg rediscovered it in 1772, which helped revive interest, and demand jumped again during the Second World War, when tea imports from Asia became difficult and people in the west turned to rooibos instead. It has kept growing since, with new blends like this one built on that older base. Rooibos has long been drunk caffeine-free as an alternative to black tea, and some traditional use associates it with easing stress and tension. Steep it in freshly boiled water for eight to ten minutes to let the citrus and rooibos both come through. It stands on its own, but a slice of lemon suits it if you want the citrus pushed further.