Topic 1 of 6
The plant
Aspalathus linearis, the red bush, and the fynbos it grows in.
Start with this guide
Rooibos
Rooibos is the caffeine-free infusion made from Aspalathus linearis, a needle-leaved legume grown in South Africa's Cederberg. Read the guide →
Also in The plant
- GuideFynbos
- News · 2 Aug 2026Eight Schools Named for Rooibos's Trip to Space
- News · 18 Jul 2026South Africa's Rooibos Seeds Are Headed to the International Space Station
- ArticleThe Honeybee You See on a Rooibos Flower Is Not Working
- ArticleAlmost Every Cup of Rooibos Comes From One Plant, Picked in the 1930s
- News · 29 May 2026The Fullest Map Yet of What the Red Bush's Genes Are Doing
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 plant
- GuideFynbos
- News · 2 Aug 2026Eight Schools Named for Rooibos's Trip to Space
- News · 18 Jul 2026South Africa's Rooibos Seeds Are Headed to the International Space Station
- ArticleThe Honeybee You See on a Rooibos Flower Is Not Working
- ArticleAlmost Every Cup of Rooibos Comes From One Plant, Picked in the 1930s
- News · 29 May 2026The Fullest Map Yet of What the Red Bush's Genes Are Doing
- ArticleThe Molecule It Took Chemists Forty-Four Years to Copy
- ArticleWhy Rooibos Has Been So Hard to Sequence, and Why the Ministry Wants It Done
- ArticleRooibos Has Nearly 280 Cousins, and Almost None of Them Became Tea
- ArticleRooibos and Honeybush Are Not Cousins, Not Really
- ArticleThe Red Bush Changes Its Own Soil, Then Changes It Back
- ArticleRooibos Gave Its Name to the Fungus Trying to Kill It
- ArticleThe Rooibos You Buy Has Its Own Variety Name
- ArticleRooibos Waited Ninety Years for a Second Variety