It is hard to believe but the first rooibos tea plantations could be developed thanks to the ants.
The biggest problem for rooibos tea farmers was collecting seeds of the red bush plant as they are very small and hard to find.
Local farmers from Clanwilliam managed to find the mysterious source of the seeds - the ants' nests.
They watched and followed little insects to the small holes in the sand and discovered slots filled with valuable seeds.
Until recent days hard working ants were ruthlessly robbed of their property and all their nests were regularly destroyed.
Today, thanks to the environment protection regulations, these practices have been replaced by a more efficient way of sifting the top layer of sand around the bush.
There is a significant economic value of rooibos tea not only because of the huge worldwide demand but mostly because red bush plants do not grow in other places than Cederberg Mountains.
They can only grow in that region thanks to unique chemical composition of soil and the occurrence of a very important variety of bacteria.
Some time ago countries like Japan tried to grow rooibos plant on their land but all the efforts were just a waste of time and money.
That is why rooibos loose tea is known as a treasure of the Republic of South Africa and the reason for the frustration of multinational corporations.
In the middle of the last century rooibos tea was drunk as a substitute for coffee by the poorest community in Cederberg, but thanks to a research and skillful marketing quickly became very popular drink throughout the world and now everyone can buy this tea online.
The name rooibos comes from African language where word "rooi" means red, "bos" is a bush and it is related to the dark colour of the plant which occurs after the fermentation process.
Except from the method of seed collection the production process of rooibos tea has not been changed significantly from past times.
The only huge improvement was an introduction of new plant variety (rather than using the wild one) what allowed developing big plantations covering high demand for loose tea.
Plants are mowed using the sickles which is very tiring and tedious job.
Only upper half of over 2m high red bush is cut.
Remaining half must be big and healthy enough to grow back quickly.
At the time of harvest, from December to April, rooibos is bound in bundles, cut to required length and passed between rollers to begin the fermentation which gives rooibos tea its characteristic colour and flavour.
The fermentation process is the most important part of rooibos tea production, because it affects the final quality of tea.
After rolling the green plants are arranged in a 30 cm thick layer and well covered.
This creates ideal conditions for the start of fermentation.
In just a few hours the colour changes from green to rusty.
The next day rooibos tea is spread in thinner layers and left to dry in the sun for three days.
The dry bits are sieved to separate leaves from stalks and dust and tea is steamed to get rid of bacteria.
At this stage it is sorted according to the size of the leaves.
The best choice of rooibos tea is loose tea available in various shops online.
Recently very popular became flavoured teas, in which loose tea is mixed with spices (vanilla, cinnamon etc.
), fruits (mango, cherry, lemon etc.
) or flowers (jasmine).
There is also green rooibos tea available, which is not fermented so contains more valuable antioxidants.
Compared with black and green tea, rooibos tea contains no caffeine and very little tein.
Rooibos is much more than tea.
African restaurants compete with each other in finding new opportunities so there is rooibos espresso and latte or meals cooked with it.
Rooibos also found its use in hair cosmetics supporting the increase of hair growth and reduction of hair loss.
So it is definitely worth adding to the daily menu.