There is a fairly extensive group of drinks traditionally called teas. Despite this name, they have nothing to do with the infusion of tea bush leaves, since they are prepared from other plants. These drinks include a slightly sweet rooibos, which is prepared from the leaves of the shrub of the same name.
Rooibos, or rooibos, is a shrub from the legume family whose thin branches are covered with soft, needle-like leaves. The homeland of this plant is southern Africa. The peoples inhabiting this region have long been preparing a fragrant tonic drink from the leaves of rooibos. The European settlers learned about the plant from the Africans. After the demand for exotic African tea significantly exceeded supply, attempts were made to grow rooibos on another continent. However, this was not done. In the first half of the 20th century, rooibos began to be grown on an industrial scale. The seeds of this plant are sown in the soil from February to March. In the summer, the grown seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place, and a year and a half later, the first harvest is already removed from the young bushes. Rooibos leaves are collected together with thin branches, after which the bundles of shoots are cut into small pieces. It is believed that high-quality tea from this shrub should contain particles of leaves and twigs 3-4 millimeters long and no more than a millimeter thick. To obtain green rooibos, the crushed shoots are steamed, stopping fermentation. A drink made from such raw materials will have a herbaceous taste. Raw materials, from which it will be possible to obtain a traditional sweetish infusion with a woody-nutty odor, are crumpled, accelerating the fermentation, and dried. Rooibos is brewed with hot water slightly colder than boiling water. To prepare a cup of the drink, take a teaspoon of the dry mixture. Infuse the liquid for 4-5 minutes. The fermented variety of this tea can be brewed 2-3 times. Rooibos is drunk both in pure form and with the addition of milk, honey, sugar, orange or lemon. The sweetness of this drink is due to the presence of glucose in it. Rooibos contains very few tannins, which give the astringent taste of traditional tea, and is caffeine-free. An infusion of the leaves of an African plant is rich in iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium.
