Green Rooibos - Rooibos tea 100 g - Café du Jour loose tea

Rooibos, but unfermented

Ordinary rooibos is fermented after harvest, which is what turns the needles red-brown and gives the tea its deep, slightly sweet, woody character. Green rooibos skips that step. The leaf stays pale and so does the brew: a light, straw-coloured cup that is fresher and more delicate, closer to a mild green tea than to the rooibos in most kitchen cupboards.

Like all rooibos it is naturally caffeine-free, and it is low in tannin, which is why it stays smooth instead of drying out the mouth.

How to brew it

This comes as loose-leaf tea, so you decide how strong the cup is. One to two teaspoons, water just off the boil, and five to seven minutes in a strainer, an infuser or a teapot with a built-in filter. Rooibos is forgiving: unlike green tea it takes hot water and a long steep without turning bitter, so forgetting it for a few minutes costs you nothing. Brew a stronger pot, let it cool and pour it over ice for a caffeine-free cold drink.

At a glance

• Contents: 100 g
• Format: loose-leaf tea
• Tea variety: rooibos
• Ingredient: green, unfermented rooibos and nothing else
• Naturally caffeine-free
• Low in tannin
• Packed in: the Netherlands
• Serve: hot or over ice