Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Rooibos Iced Tea
Naturally caffeine-free red bush tea steeped strong, sweetened, and chilled with lemon and mint, South Africa's signature cooler.
South African · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 10 min
~54 cal · 0g protein · 14g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 13g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Rooibos iced tea is a South African refresher built on rooibos, a naturally caffeine-free, reddish herbal 'bush tea' that grows only in the Cederberg mountains of the Western Cape. Brewed, sweetened, and chilled with lemon or fruit, it is a popular cooling drink.
Rooibos is rich in antioxidants and, unlike black tea, carries almost no tannin, so it never turns bitter no matter how long it . As an iced tea it makes a smooth, subtly sweet, thirst-quenching drink for the country's warm days.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
4 rooibos tea bags (or loose)
5 cups water
1/4 cup sugar (or agave)
1 lemon
a handful fresh mint
Instructions
1
Boil the water, pour it into the jug first and then drop in the rooibos, and let it steep at least 10 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
You cannot over-steep rooibos. It comes from Aspalathus linearis, a Cederberg shrub rather than the tea plant, and it carries so little tannin that it never turns bitter however long you leave it; a longer steep just deepens the colour and brings out more maltol and vanillin, so it actually tastes sweeter. Water in first, leaves after, gets the most out of it.
2
Stir in the sugar (or agave) while the tea is hot so it dissolves completely.
3
Squeeze in the lemon and drop in the mint, then let it cool to room temperature.
✎ Chef’s note
The lemon does double duty: it lowers the pH, which brightens the red. Rooibos grows nowhere but the Cederberg, and in 2021 it became the first African product to be granted protected Geographical Indication status.
4
Chill well and serve over ice with extra lemon and mint.
South African Cederberg tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Western Cape. The Western Cape holds Cape Town and the Cape Malay kitchens brought by enslaved people from Southeast Asia, long credited with giving South Africa bobotie, curried mince under savoury custard, though who invented it is genuinely disputed: some historians trace the dish to the Dutch settlers instead, and its distant ancestor may be a Roman baked custard of meat and milk. Sweet-spiced curries, koesisters, and braai grilling define the region.
🗺️
South Africa. Cape Malay cooking came from people enslaved and exiled to the Cape from the Indonesian archipelago, India and Sri Lanka under Dutch rule, and it brought cinnamon, cumin and dried fruit into a European framework. Bobotie is where the argument sits: Cape Malay and Dutch parentage are both defensible and neither has been settled.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from South Africa
Chakalaka & PapA punchy curried vegetable-and-bean relish beside smooth white maize porridge, braai-day essentials.
Bunny ChowA hollowed half-loaf of bread filled with fiery Durban curry, the ultimate hand-held street meal.
BobotieCurried spiced mince baked under a golden savory custard, sweet with dried fruit and fragrant with bay, South Africa’s national comfort.
Browse all South Africa recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a South Africa meal
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Rooibos Iced Tea?
Naturally caffeine-free red bush tea steeped strong, sweetened, and chilled with lemon and mint, South Africa's signature cooler.
Where does Rooibos Iced Tea come from?
Rooibos Iced Tea is a South African dish from Western Cape, South Africa.
Can Rooibos Iced Tea be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Rooibos Iced Tea recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Rooibos Iced Tea safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Rooibos Iced Tea take to make?
About 15 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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