My tea review of the week is Stash’s Red and White Tea.  This tea is a blend of red tea (rooibos) from South Africa and white tea from China.

White tea is considered one of the most expensive teas in the world because it is more scarce than the other traditional teas.  White tea leaves are picked and harvested before the leaves are fully open and the buds are still covered by fine white hair.

White tea buds and young tea leaves have been found to contain lower levels of caffeine than older leaves such as green and black tea.   When white tea is harvested, it is allowed to withered and dried unlike with black or green tea.

Red tea comes from  the Cedarberg Mountain wilderness just north of Capetown, South Africa.  The plant is named “Aspalathus Linearis” and has needle-like leaves.  During the plant’s ripening process the leaves develop a reddish brown color, leading to the name “red bush”.

Like green tea, Rooibos is high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.  Red tea is more like herbal tea and contains no caffeine.  It has a lightly sweet but astringent flavor making it a great tea alternative.  You can find loose red tea sold by the pound at places like Whole Foods.  If you can’t get your hand on Stash’s red and white blend, you can always make your own cup by brewing each type of tea and adding them together.

I did enjoy this cup of tea but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite.  The flavor of the red tea was more overpowering then the white tea.  But I think it may taste pretty good with just a bit of honey or agave syrup.  It is one tea I may skip, but would consider buying if it was on sale.  Otherwise I would just enjoy a cup of red tea instead.

A little more explanation and photo of Rooibos (Red Bush) from Skimmelberg Tea Importers:

The plant is a shrub-like bush with a central smooth bark main stem which, near the soil surface, is already subdivided into various equally strong off-shoots followed by thin, flimsy side branches bearing the thin, sharp, soft, needle like leaves of approximately ten millimeters in length, singly or in bunches. The growth height varies from one to 1,5 metre in its natural state while the height of harvested plants varies from 0,5 to 1,5 metre depending on the age or the climate and soil conditions in the area of production.