What is RedTea?

Red teas are made from the leaves of two bushes that grow in South Africa. The most common is Rooibos (Red Bush); the second is Honeybush. Technically, the brews made from these leaves are Tisanes, not teas...but they are commonly called teas as they are brewed beverages. The leaves are picked while still green, mostly manually, is left in piles which ferments the leaves, turning them red, and is then spread out to dry in the sun. It is then sterilized by steam processing. There are no artificial ingredients or additives in true red tea, which is why there have been a lot of health claims made for red tea. It contains no caffeine - naturally, unlike decaffeinated black tea. Some studies into the health benefits of Rooibos have been conducted in South Africa and Japan, and some people believe it can help with insomnia, headaches, nervous tension and hypertension. It has calming abilities, and in Africa has been used to treat hay fever, asthma and eczema. In this instances it is applied topically; the brew is placed on the infected areas as a poultice. It naturally contains copper, iron, potassium, calcium, fluoride, zinc and manganese. There are even claims that Rooibos contains anti-oxidants that help anti-aging and boost the immune system. And it contains anti-spasmodics, which may relieve stomach cramping and colic in babies. Of course, the more outrageous the claims, the less likely they are to be true, but red tea has many fans.

Rooibos was drunk by one isolated tribe for hundreds of years before it was discovered by the outside world. In fact, it almost wasn't discovered - the tribe, the Koisons, died out, and it was in 1772 that Rooibos was discovered by botanist Carl Humberg. It was drunk primarily in South Africa until 1904 when a transplanted Russian named Benjamin Ginsberg began marketing it as "Mountain Tea".

The second type of red tea is called Honeybush. It is a rarer tea as it isn't grown as extensively. It is brewed from the leaves of a flowering plant, and the leaves are only harvested during the flowering season in order to produce a sweeter tisane. The name comes from the honey aroma of the flowers.

To buy Rooibos and Honeybush tea, both pure and flavored, go to:

For more information on red teas, go to:

For medical news regarding red teas and tisanes made from other African plants, some very rare, go to: www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/89393.phpwww.rooibos.com

www.africantea.comLately, there has been a lot of talk about 'Red' tea. There are boxes of it everywhere, and even some of the more nontraditional tea shops have started offering red teas. What is red tea, and is it really tea at all?

Does it have health benefits?