Tagged: quality control

Superior, Choice, Standard: How a Rooibos Grade Is Judged, and Why a Finer Cut Tastes Stronger

Every batch of rooibos is graded on cut, colour, and aroma before it becomes a teabag, a loose-leaf tin, or an extract. Here is what Superior, Choice, and Standard grade actually describe, and why a finer cut tastes stronger while a coarser one tastes sweeter.

Rooibos Ferments in the Open, So the Law Makes It Pass Through Heat First

Rooibos is fermented and dried outdoors on bare ground, which is exactly why no batch may legally leave a South African processing plant without a mandated heat step first. Here is what that step actually does, what a 2014 peer-reviewed review found it does not fully guarantee, and why the kettle you already use finishes the job.