One of the country’s most favorite exports is grounded in its roots. The reddish-brown rooibos is being sipped around the world, and could soon have a unique use in petrol stations.
“Drinking rooibos tea could then be something that individuals can do to look after their own health if they are worried about toxic exposures in daily life.”
There is an adage that claims a cup of tea can fix just about anything.
Rough day? Sip some chamomile.
Broken heart? Brew some chai.
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Need to pull an all-nighter for that deadline? Green tea has your back.
One tea in particular, though, has acquired a reputation as somewhat of a superfood thanks to its long list of health benefits that is transforming wellness, one cup at a time.
Native to the mountainous plains of the Cederberg region in South Africa’s Western Cape province, rooibos has steeped its way to global fame—all the while remaining grounded in its roots.
“Rooibos only grows in 60,000 hectares in the entire world, on the southwest coast of South Africa,” reveals the Marketing Director of Carmién Tea, Lize du Preez.
The distinct location has led to rooibos joining the prestigious ranks of French champagne and Greek feta cheese by acquiring the status of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) from the European Union, becoming the first African food to do so. Thus, if the leaves are not specifically from the Cederberg region of South Africa, well, it is just a herbal infusion with a scarlet hue.
Even rooibos’s unique reddish-brown shade has garnered acclaim: it was named by New York Fashion Week as one of the top 10 colors for the 2024 spring season, complete with its own Pantone color card.
“There is also a video game called Enshrouded where rooibos is one of the resources that you harvest for energy,” notes Marthane Swart, Secretariat of the South African Rooibos Council. “It just shows that there is an increasing awareness of rooibos all over the world and people are using it and thinking about it for a variety of functions.”
One particular purpose is closer to home.
A recent study was conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH) to determine whether rooibos can protect petrol attendants from exposure to harmful chemicals.
“Looking into the toxicology of petrol fumes, especially BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), we found that consistent exposure leads to increased levels of oxidative stress,” explains Dr Kerry Wilson, an epidemiologist at the NIOH who is leading the study.
While all cells are prone to oxidation, high levels have been associated with acute symptoms like headaches and dizziness, and long-term exposure has been linked to nerve damage and elevated risks of cancers.
“Measuring oxidative stress is not that straightforward, but quite a bit of research has been done around the antioxidant levels of tea. Tea is also something that is fairly accessible for most people.”
The array of polyphenols found in rooibos reads like a who’s who of the antioxidant world: compounds that regulate blood sugar, neutralize carcinogens, combat inflammation, and reduce hypertension, amongst others. It is, essentially, tea’s version of The Avengers against free radicals.
Wilson’s study involved analyzing the levels of oxidative stress in the blood and urine samples of 100 petrol attendants from various stations in the Johannesburg city center. The volunteers were then given a six-month supply of rooibos and told to drink three cups a day.
“Most were excited to participate in the research. A few asked for more tea when we returned to take updated samples after the six-month period.”
The final laboratory analysis is currently underway, with the findings expected around the end of 2025.
“One might hope to see an improvement in other chronic diseases if oxidative stress is reduced or managed,” Wilson notes. “Drinking rooibos tea could then be something that individuals can do to look after their own health if they are worried about toxic exposures in daily life.”
The secret to rooibos’s resilience could well be found in how it grows. Enduring temperatures of below 0° Celsius in winter and upwards of 40° during the summer, it is a bush built for survival.
“Because it’s so cold at night in the Cederberg and hot during the day, the plant stores up enormous amounts of antioxidants to protect itself,” shares Sarah Hetherington, who is Director of brand communication at African Extracts, a skincare brand that uses rooibos as its key ingredient.
The company sells around 3 million products per year, with its Classic SPF 15-day cream regarded as South Africa’s best-selling essential care moisturizer.
“For skincare, we want to preserve the highest-possible level of antioxidants, so we use the extract from green, unfermented rooibos in our products.”
Whether it’s being shipped abroad or recommended by beauty bloggers, rooibos wouldn’t make it to shelves without the farmers who cultivate it. Yet, they are not necessarily getting to reap the rewards of the Rooibos Revolution.
“If you compare the shelf prices to what producers are getting at the farm gate level, there is a huge disconnect,” points out Vanrhynsdorp farmer, Werner Nieuwoudt.
With a background in the corporate world as a chartered accountant, he founded the Rooibos Tea Producers’ Association in 2023 as a platform for farmers to be more involved in industry strategies and processes.
“My vision is a premium growth, sustainable industry that adds benefit to every role player across the board, all the way up to farm worker level.”
In order for this to be achieved, Nieuwoudt believes that certain reforms need to be put in place.
“We need to have a standardized grading system as the tea is currently graded by the various buyers, and we need to have a solid marketing strategy approach as an industry to differentiate our tea in the market and sell our tea globally.”
Tea drinkers in Japan and Germany have already wrought a robust relationship with the red brew, while premium brands, like Du Preez’s boutique LMC Rooibos Collection, are gaining interest in international markets like Taiwan and Scandinavia.
“Rooibos is truly a South African treasure,” Du Preez states. “I wanted to create a product that almost gives the same exclusivity and sensory experience that one would get from a perfume box.”
Rooibos has positioned itself as a symbol of what’s possible when science, tradition and smart marketing come together. If every problem can be solved with a cup of tea, then rooibos might just be the smartest brew of them all.
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