TeaChat

What is green roobios? I thought all roobios was red? Any taste differences between green and red roobios? Here is a link to a green rooibos that Mary R had mentioned in an earlier post:

http://www.dragonwater.com/product_deta ... a_tea.html

Green rooibos is simply rooibos that hasn't been oxidized. After harvesting, it's immediately steamed/withered/whatever to stop the oxidation process.

It brews up a clear orange, as opposed to the deep russet of red rooibos, and has a milder taste. Maybe a little bit more in the brighter sour notes than red. It tends to pair well with fruitier flavors, where reds tend to go a bit better with the sweeter, confection-like flavors. Of course, any rooibos in general is pretty light and pairs up well with any fruit or confection flavoring...the differences between the two in flavored blends are a little hard to discern.

Some sources claim that green rooibos has more antioxidants and what not than red. Maybe it does. I haven't found any research on that topic that sounds convincing.

Hi Teasweetie, I found this information on http://www.enjoyingtea.com/orgrro.html:

Green Rooibos Tea is the unfermented Cape Rooibos Red Bush Tea. It is harvested in small batches and moved straight from the mountain slopes to the drying facilities, to stop the rapid, natural fermentation. Flavonoids and anti-oxidants are higher than fermented Cape Rooibos. Green Rooibos has a light, smooth and aromatic taste. With low tannin and the absence of caffeine makes it an ideal drink, even at night. Green Rooibos is a super thirst quencher. Drink it hot or cold and it makes an excellent iced tea.

My favorite, Ginger & Lime Rooibos, is a green rooibos tea... I get it here: http://www.keriateas.com/index.html. Unfortunately, the website isn't equipped for online sales yet - you'd have to call to order it (or work out a trade of some sort with a friendly teachatter... )

Guess I'm not quick enough on the draw...

Mary's description fits perfectly with my green rooibos experience. It's a very refreshing tea any time of the day.

All the teas on the Keria Teas site are Rishi products. If you'd rather check them out directly, you can find Rishi here.

Hmmm, maybe not ALL of Keria Tea comes from Rishi... I know the owner shops around for her tea, and I have several teas and blends at home that are not to be found on Rishi. I also prefer Rishi Masala Chai over Kristin's Masala Chai.

I am happy to know of an alternate source for my favorite addiction, though! Thanks for the heads up...

Thank you for the information, Mary and Texas Tea! I look forward to trying a green roobios.

Ed didn't chime in? He's the one who drinks the most rooibos of the people I know, and he absolutely LOVES the green rooibos.
</talking for ed>

Yeah, I noticed this thread last night but I was too tired to post. I get my green rooibos from specialteas.com, they have organic green rooibos and you can't beat the price. I wish adagio would carry the stuff. I've been too preoccupied with sencha lately to order any rooibos, but it's definitely my favorite herbal tea. Green rooibos tastes like honey to me, and that's with no added flavoring. I've read that rooibos has the most anti-aging properties of any known plant... who knows if that's true, but it's a good caffeine-free drink.

sweet thanks for all that info guys. i really like rooibos, but haven't even heard of green. i'll have to grab some soon.

I like red rooibos but i LOVE green rooibos. It's far better! So give it a try! Makes me sad to think about all this rooibos getting destroyed by oxidation

In the tea shop where I bought my green rooibos, the seller looked at me like I was an idiot and said "Don't you know that rooibos is red" when I asked for it? So I pointed at the tin on which was written Green Rooibos, got it by a very disappointed seller and walked out of the store in good mood

Ps. There is also honeybush, sometimes mistaken for rooibos but rather different.

So would green rooibos have a lighter flavor then regular green tea?

The flavor of Green Rooibos has in fact very little to do with the flavor of green tea. It most reminds me of Bai Mu Dan. It doesn't get bitter.

Green Rooibos is delicious, with none of the medicinal taste that many associate with red Rooibos. The flavored blend that I'm always going on about in TeaDay, Rooibos Tropica from Teavana, has a green rooibos base.