I first learned of rooibos tea—sometimes called red bush tea—in reading the novel The Ladies No.1 Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith. It is the first novel of a series set in Botswana, South Africa; you may have seen the HBO movie by the same name. The heroine of the novel, one of my very all-time favorite heroines, wise Precious Ramotswe, favors red bush tea. She often ponders and philosophizes about the matters of men and women and life as she drinks her tea. By the time I finished reading the novel some ten years ago, I absolutely had to go out and find me some red bush tea.

I instantly formed a liking for the tea made from the South African red bush plant. Which, of course, makes it really a tisane, but I agree with my mother, who says, “Tisane…it just doesn’t have so pleasant a ring, does it?” Red bush tea is the only non-tea tea that I really and truly like. It is the deep red-brown of genuine orange pekoe, and has a sort of clear-sky-hot-afternoon-comfort taste. I have tried a number of different brands, most are organic, and they all seemed good, until I recently tried Intaba. I find the Intaba brand South African Rooibos Tea richer tasting than any brand previously tried.

The days are really hot and sultry now where I live in south Alabama, and I frequently enjoy the refreshment of a cold glass of rooibos tea. For a 1-quart pitcher made CurtissAnn’s way:  Brew 4 Intaba Rooibos single tea bags in 2 cups boiling water for five to six minutes. Put in the pitcher 1/4 cup sugar, or however much makes you happy, and a generous slice of fresh lemon—half inch at least. Add the hot brewed rooibos to the pitcher and mix well. Then fill the rest of the pitcher with ice and/or cold water. Stir. Pour over ice, sit on the shady porch in front of a fan, and relax.

When CurtissAnn isn’t relaxing on the front porch with a tall glass of cold rooibos, she spends her time writing novels! Visit her Web site, CurtissAnnMatlock.com, to learn more!

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