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New ZealandFlavors · Clanwilliam
A hot amber-colored beverage made from the oxidized leaves of a shrub that only grows in the Cederberg mountains and surrounding areas. Clanwilliam, at the foot of the range, is the center of cultivation and processing, and the name rooibos has a protected geographical indication.
Traditional drink from Clanwilliam, Cabo Ocidental
Also known as: rooibos tea, red bush, chá de rooibos
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Rooibos — Clanwilliam, South Africa
Rooibos is an infusion made from the needle‑like leaves and stems of Aspalathus linearis, a fynbos shrub native to the Cederberg mountains in the Western Cape. The name means red bush in Afrikaans: after cutting, the branches are bruised, moistened and piled to oxidize, in a process traditionally called fermentation, and the leaves change from green to reddish‑brown. They are then sun‑dried on large patios. The drink is amber in color, has a mild, slightly sweet taste and contains no caffeine.
The khoi and san, the region’s indigenous peoples, were the first to use the plant, and settlers learned the preparation from them. In the early 20th century, merchant Benjamin Ginsberg began buying rooibos gathered in the wild by Cederberg communities and selling it commercially. Around 1930, doctor and botanist Pieter le Fras Nortier of Clanwilliam conducted the first cultivation experiments, and farmers began planting the shrub. In 1948 producers formed the Clanwilliam tea cooperative.
The shrub requires winter rains, a dry summer and the region’s sandy soils, at altitudes between 200 and 1,000 meters. Since 2014, the name rooibos has been a geographical indication in South Africa, and since 2021 it is also a protected designation of origin in the European Union: only rooibos grown in the recognized area, which stretches from the Cederberg to the south of the Northern Cape, may use the name. Harvesting occurs mainly in summer and early autumn, usually from January to April, but can begin in November and run until May, and Clanwilliam concentrates the farms and processing facilities.
In South Africa, rooibos is an everyday drink, served hot, plain or with milk and sugar, and also iced. There is also green rooibos, which is unoxidized and has a more herbaceous flavor. In Clanwilliam and in Wupperthal, in the Cederberg, you can see the plantations and, on some farms, the fermentation and drying process.
Clanwilliam , Cabo Ocidental
Clanwilliam, at the foot of the Cederberg, is the center of rooibos cultivation and processing. City dependency confirmed by the guide’s GET.
Leaves and stems of Aspalathus linearis, cut, oxidized and sun‑dried.
As an infusion, in hot water for a few minutes. It’s drunk plain, with milk and sugar, with honey or lemon, hot or iced.
All year round, at any time, because it contains no caffeine. Harvesting generally takes place from January to April, but can vary from November to May.
Your questions
A beverage made from the oxidized, dried leaves of a shrub from the Cederberg in the Western Cape. It is amber in color, mildly flavored and contains no caffeine.
Only in the Cederberg mountains and surrounding areas, in an area that extends from the Western Cape to the south of the Northern Cape. Clanwilliam is the center of cultivation and processing.
Because of oxidation, traditionally called fermentation: the cut branches are bruised, moistened and piled, and the leaves change from green to reddish‑brown before sun‑drying.
Yes. Since 2014 the name has been a geographical indication in South Africa, and since 2021 it has been a protected designation of origin in the European Union.
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