Rosemary & Orange - Rooibos Tea 100 g - Café du Jour Loose Tea

What rooibos tea is

Rooibos is not tea leaf at all. It comes from a South African shrub, and the red infusion made from its needles is naturally caffeine-free, which is why a pot of rooibos tea is as reasonable at ten at night as at ten in the morning. On its own it brews soft, round and faintly sweet, with none of the tannin grip of black tea.

What the orange and rosemary do

Café du Jour's Rosemary & Orange builds on that base with orange peel and rosemary. The peel makes the cup sweet and fruity; the rosemary gives it a clear, resinous aroma that you notice as you pour as much as when you drink. The rosemary is what makes the blend worth having — it keeps a fruited rooibos from turning into something one-note and sugary.

Brewing it

Rooibos is forgiving. Use water straight off the boil, about 2 to 3 g of loose tea per cup in a pot or an infuser, and leave it five minutes or more. Unlike green or black tea it does not turn bitter as it stands, so a pot left on the table is still worth drinking an hour later.

Good to know

• Type: loose tea, rooibos blend
• Ingredients: rooibos, orange peel, rosemary
• Contents: 100 g
• Caffeine: naturally caffeine-free
• Flavour: sweet and fruity, with a clear rosemary aroma
• Brewing: water off the boil, 2 to 3 g per cup, five minutes or more
• Brand: Café du Jour, produced in the Netherlands