Topic 4 of 6
The cup
Brewing, and red against green.
Start with this guide
Brewing Rooibos
Brewing rooibos: how much leaf, what water temperature, how long to steep, how to make it as a latte, and how green rooibos differs from red. Read the guide →
Also in The cup
- ArticleThe Same Long Steep That Is Kind to Rooibos Is Not Kind to a Mesh Tea Bag
- ArticleGreen vs Red Rooibos: What Oxidation Changes
- ArticleRooibos in the South African Kitchen
- News · 28 Apr 2026Why Cold-Water Swimmers Warm Up on Rooibos: No Caffeine to Spike the Heart
- ArticleRooibos Is Caffeine-Free. It Was Never Decaffeinated.
- ArticleHard Water Leaves No Scum on Rooibos, but It Does Age the Aspalathin
Explainer · The cup
Red and green
One plant, two paths.
Red rooibosCut, bruised and left to oxidise.
Path Cut, bruised and left to oxidiseColour Deep red-brownTaste Sweet, woody, faintly honeyedAspalathin Less
Green rooibosDried quickly instead.
Path Dried quickly insteadColour Nearer the leaf's own greenTaste Lighter, grassier, more delicateAspalathin Considerably more
Both
- No caffeine at all: never there, not removed.
- Low in tannins.
Everything filed under The cup
- ArticleThe Same Long Steep That Is Kind to Rooibos Is Not Kind to a Mesh Tea Bag
- ArticleGreen vs Red Rooibos: What Oxidation Changes
- ArticleRooibos in the South African Kitchen
- News · 28 Apr 2026Why Cold-Water Swimmers Warm Up on Rooibos: No Caffeine to Spike the Heart
- ArticleRooibos Is Caffeine-Free. It Was Never Decaffeinated.
- ArticleHard Water Leaves No Scum on Rooibos, but It Does Age the Aspalathin
- News · 6 Mar 2026How Long to Steep for the Most Out of a Cup, According to a Beirut Lab
- News · 5 Mar 2026Rooibos Keeps Turning Up in Detective Fiction, Now on Apple TV+
- News · 17 Feb 2026Ordinary Water Leaves Rooibos Unchanged, Stellenbosch Finds