History of Rooibos

It has been said “There is an indigenous plant growing on the cold desert like coastline of the southern tip of Africa, which can well turn out to make medical history”. The story of Rooibos is a uniquely interesting one – that started at the turn of the century in beautiful surroundings of the Cape Cedarberg region.

It was the locals that discovered the fine needle like leaves of the wild Aspalathus linearis can be used to make a tasty, aromatic tea. The manufacturing procedure/process remains the same today – bruising and then fermentation in the sun, but the methods are more mechanised and efficient. By 1904 an early Russian pioneer Benjamin Ginsberg (who’s family traded tea in Europe), realised the value of the then “mountain tea”, with a buy and sell arrangement with the locals the first tea was traded. In 1930 a well-known nature lover Dr P. Le Fras Nortier, discovered the value of Rooibos as an agricultural product. Enthusiastically motivating farmers to cultivate Rooibos and with improved methods and the 2nd World War shortage of Ceylon tea, output rose steadily.

Today Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a multi million dollar business and has an established network in countries such as Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, USA, South America, Pacific Rim, Far East and Southern Africa.