beauty blend

4 Health Benefits of Red Rooibos Tea (Plus How to Pronounce It)

Written By Kacie Goff May 13, 2019

Coffee lovers, may we have your attention? We love a good cup of joe as much as the next office, but we’re switching up our routine to make space for another hot beverage. It delivers the pleasant, flavorful experience of enjoying a steaming mug with a whole heap of health benefits, so it’s worth giving up that second (or fourth) cup of coffee and letting it steal the spotlight.

We’re talking about R ed Rooibos Tea. For centuries, southern Africa has looked to this tea for an aromatic cup with medicinal properties. Rooibos is finally making its way stateside, delivering a caffeine-free pick-me-up that can help the body stay healthy.

Wondering how to pronounce rooibos to tell your friends about it? It’s “roy-bose.”

Rooibos’s Rich Background

Also known as redbush tea or, simply, red tea, Rooibos is derived from a shrub called Aspalathus linearis. That explains the name; the cuttings from it are red once they go through the tea-making process. Aspalathus linearis grows primarily along the west coast of South Africa, in its mountainous Cederberg region [1].

Rooibos tea is harvested by hand by cutting stems, along with their leaves, from the shrub. The cuttings are then bundled (the bundles are called “Gerwe” in Afrikaans) and bruised, which helps them oxidize, giving Rooibos Teas their signature red color. The oxidation process, also called sweating, sweetens the flavor of the resulting tea and gives it a richer taste profile.

The redbush tea is then dried, after which it’s ready to be consumed. Rooibos is brewed the same way as any other tea. Steeping it in hot water releases its flavor and notable red-amber hue.

A cup of Red Rooibos tea has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. People enjoy it hot or iced, with or without the addition of milk, sugar, or honey.

The Many Benefits of Rooibos Tea

Rooibos has a lot to offer. Here are four of its most notable benefits:

Its Caffeine-Free.

For starters, one of the biggest benefits of Rooibos is that it’s a rich and flavorful beverage people can consume freely. It doesn’t contain any caffeine [2] so it doesn’t carry the jitters often associated [3] with coffee, black tea, or even green tea.

Its High in Antioxidants.

Where Rooibos really shines, though, is in its ability to deliver antioxidants [4]. The human body can contain molecules called free radicals. These can put the person into a state of oxidative stress. Chronic oxidative stress is linked to cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes [5].

Fortunately, antioxidants can help to protect cells from free radical damage, potentially fending off a number of serious health issues. In short, Rooibos can help the body build its defense system.

It Can Support Heart Health.

It’s no surprise, then, that rooibos tea has been linked to heart health [6]. It can support healthy blood pressure and decrease LDL cholesterol (the bad type) while supporting an increase in HDL cholesterol (the good type) [7].

It Can Protect Your Skin.

What’s more, rooibos isn’t only beneficial for the body’s internal processes. It can also support healthy skin. Rooibos can protect skin cells against damage as you age and might even prevent wrinkles [8].

Beauty Blend: The Key to Unlocking Rooibos’s Benefits for the Body.

Study after study points to Rooibos’s health benefits. And, perhaps thanks to its body-boosting potential or to its unique, enjoyable flavor, it’s becoming more widely available.

We wanted to make it even easier for you to enjoy this flavorful, healthy tea, so we’ve formulated a tea of our own with it: Beauty Blend.

In addition to antioxidant-rich rooibos, this tea delivers collagen, biotin, and vitamins. Formulated by a registered dietitian, it’s designed to support healthy hair, skin, and nails. With its unique blend of rooibos and jasmine, each cup invites you to savor the moment and enjoy a little “me time.”