South Africa, known as the "Rainbow Country", not only has a diverse cultural and historical accumulation, but also rich in plant resources, especially rooibos tea, which is world-renowned.
Rooibos tea is known as the "national treasure tea" of South Africa, because of its reddish brown color, so it is also known as "South African ruby", and **, diamond and called "South African three treasures". In the local area, rooibos tea is so popular that not only the people are accustomed to drinking it daily, but also the foreigners who live in it are also very popular. In recent years, with the increasingly close bilateral exchanges between South Africa and China, rooibos tea has become more and more famous in China, and most of the Chinese who come to South Africa for business and tourism will buy some gifts for their relatives and friends in China.
Rooibos tea is written "rooibos" in Afrikan, one of South Africa's official languages, which means "red bush". Strictly speaking, it is not "tea", at least not "tea from the tea tree", but is processed from a coniferous leguminous shrub plant unique to South Africa. This plant grows in the Seidberg region, hundreds of kilometers from Cape Town, South Africa's second largest city. The soils of the region are characterized by sandiness, high acidity and loose texture, as well as abundant rainfall, which is ideal for the cultivation of rooibos tea. It is said that other countries and regions have also tried to grow this tea, but they have not succeeded.
The aborigines of South Africa have a very long history of drinking rooibos tea. They regarded it as a "gift from heaven", and many related myths and legends have been passed down to this day, as well as ancient paintings and stone carvings on the cave walls. However, its "official history" is only more than 300 years, and the time for large-scale cultivation, development and utilization until it becomes a cash crop is even shorter.
According to the South African Rooibos Tea Council (SARC)**, early Dutch settlers in Cape Town began drinking rooibos tea as an alternative to European black tea as early as the 18th century. At that time, it was also used as an herbal remedy. In 1904, a Russian immigrant who came to South Africa realized the great commercial potential of this unique drink, and he became the first exporter in the region.
At the beginning of the 20th century, rooibos tea sparked a keen interest in a doctor and nature lover to study its medicinal properties. However, this type of research did not attract much attention at the time. It wasn't until 1968 that local women discovered that rooibos tea could relieve infant pain, drawing widespread attention to the tea's health care function. In 1984, rooibos tea made headlines in Japan as an anti-aging product.
In most countries and regions around the world, tea is generally considered an adult drink and is not suitable for children and teenagers. But many South African families not only disagree with this, but also encourage their children to develop the habit of drinking tea from an early age. This may have something to do with the fact that the tea is caffeine-free and rich in minerals such as iron, potassium, copper, zinc, calcium, and more. Locals believe that Rooibos tea has the functions of improving insomnia, anti-allergies, anti-inflammatory, relieving indigestion, skin care, heart protection and diabetes prevention. The results of the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC) further pointed out that the tea has the effect of inhibiting gene mutations and preventing cancer. However, there are also sources that believe that the health care and medical function of the tea is "attached to folklore" to a certain extent, and has not yet been recognized by authoritative scientific research institutions.
Rooibos tea has a strong aroma, and the taste is obviously different from the green tea and black tea familiar to Chinese, and the taste is better when brewed with milk and honey. The tea is available in both hot and cold brewing methods, and in recent years, many novel compounds have been derived, including mixing and matching with coffee, cocktails, milkshakes, apple juice, lemon juice, etc., or as an adjunct to dairy products such as ice cream. There are also many people who use it as a seasoning and add it when they stew chicken broth or pork rib soup.
Rooibos tea has brought significant economic benefits to South Africa, as well as creating jobs and increasing incomes. In recent years, there has been a growing consumer demand for the tea in South Africa and abroad. According to the South African Rooibos Tea Council**, the current annual production of the tea is about 20,000 tons. Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States are important importers of rooibos tea. As of 2023, China ranks seventh out of 45 countries that import the tea. The South African Ministry of Trade and Industry recently announced that China has decided to significantly reduce import tariffs on rooibos tea, from the previous 15% to 30% to 6%. South Africa** welcomes this and looks forward to taking this opportunity to further expand the Chinese market. (Author: Yang Haiquan **Economy**).
*:Economy**.