Karoo Rooibos — Single-Ingredient Loose-Leaf Tea

Red bush from the Cederberg mountains in South Africa, and nothing else in the tin. It brews deep amber and tastes rounded and faintly nutty, with none of the tannic edge that makes black tea bracing — which is why it takes milk if you want it that way.

Rooibos has never contained caffeine. It is not made from the tea plant, so nothing had to be taken out of it.

Good to know

• Caffeine-free by nature, not decaffeinated
• In the tin: rooibos. That is the whole list.
• No hibiscus, no liquorice root, no lemongrass, no added flavouring
• Loose leaf — 4.4 oz, about 50 cups
• Grown in the Cederberg region of South Africa

How to brew
One heaped teaspoon per cup. Water just off the boil. Steep 5–7 minutes and strain. Rooibos does not turn bitter if you leave it longer.

If you are pregnant
The NHS suggests no more than four cups of herbal tea a day. We publish the full ingredient list so you can check it against your own advice. Your midwife or doctor is the right person to ask about that, not us.