Chinese red vs Rooibos

[Pam]

Chinese red vs Rooibos

by Pam » Nov 5th, '05, 07:40

I'm confused. I recently attended a Chinese tea class in Hong Kong and learned that red tea is fully fermented but not aged (aged would be black tea). But online it appears that red tea is rooibos. Are they the same thing? Or is the term "red tea" used for both?

[teaspoon]

by teaspoon » Nov 5th, '05, 13:24

From what I know (and I could be misinformed or mistaken), Chinese red tea is really what we consider black tea, and that aged black tea is called Pu Erh. It definitely is tea, from the camellia sinensis plant (not sure if I spelled that right).

Rooibos is a bush that grows in South Africa, unrelated to the tea plant, and rooibos tea is an herbal infusion. It's called "red tea" because of its color.

I hope this helps!

~teaspoon

[sevendust62]

by sevendust62 » Nov 6th, '05, 12:37

Basically, what Americans call "black tea" (because its leaf is black) Chinese call "red tea" (because the brew is red). However, Americans use "red tea" to refer to rooibos.

[cha cha]

by cha cha » Jan 8th, '08, 01:33

I think so~

[evilive]

by evilive » Jan 8th, '08, 19:13

From what I know (and I could be misinformed or mistaken), Chinese red tea is really what we consider black tea, and that aged black tea is called Pu Erh. It definitely is tea, from the camellia sinensis plant (not sure if I spelled that right).

Rooibos is a bush that grows in South Africa, unrelated to the tea plant, and rooibos tea is an herbal infusion. It's called "red tea" because of its color.

Bingo! Although, i'm not sure if the term "black tea" is even used in China. Anyone know?