Rooibos

Habit of a copy on a tea plantation in Clanwilliam, South Africa

Rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis ) is a plant which belongs to the legume family ( Fabaceae ). It grows originally in the western mountain regions of South Africa's Western Cape province.

Elite forms of Aspalathus linearis are grown for the production of rooibos tea. Rooibos tea is a popular beverage in South Africa, as it contains no dyes, additives or preservatives and is free of caffeine.

Description

In Aspalathus linearis is a very variable shrub that reaches stature heights of 1 to 2 m. It has upright to spreading, rods like branches, where there are thin twigs. The bark of young branches is often reddish. The alternate and mostly closely together standing leaves are green, about 1 mm thick and 1.5 to 6 cm long, have approximately the shape of pine needles, but very soft. There are no stipules present.

The flowering time is in the South African spring and early summer. The short -stalked flowers grow singly or in dense clusters at the ends of the branches. The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and fünfzählig double perianth. The five petals are yellow. The relatively small legume usually contains one or two hard seeds.

Occurrence

The natural range of Aspalathus linearis is located in South Africa's Western Cape province in the winter rainfall region of the north at about Vanrhynsdorp to the Cape Peninsula and the Betty 's Bay area in the south. This area has cold wet winters and hot dry summers with about 300 to 350 mm annual rainfall.

The cultivation of rooibos bushes done with selected forms of this type, which are mainly in the Cederberg Mountains ( Cape Fold Belt ) were found. The rooibos plantations are located on sandy soils in the valleys of the Olifants, Breede and Hex Rivers.

Naming

In South Africa, this tea is considered as national drink and is usually referred to as Rooibos ( Afrikaans for rooi has red and bos for bush ( in Germany, " bosch " widespread than mispronunciation of bos) ). Other designations are rooibos tea, Redbush Tea. In Europe there are often confusing terms such as Rooibos, Rotbuschsie, Redbos and Koopmans tea ( Koopman Afrikaans = merchant), or even Massaitee, although rooibos has no relation to this tribe. The term Buschmanntee however has a historical background, since the use of Rooibos should be initially made ​​by the Khoisan.

History

It is unclear how long the rooibos is used by the people of the Cederberg Mountains north of Cape Town. 1772 reported the botanist Carl Peter Thunberg from Rooibos tea and as a medicinal plant of the Khoisan.

1904 observed the Russian tea merchant Benjamin Ginsberg, the locals at the tea and was able to establish trade and marketing of rooibos especially in South Africa, but also in Europe.

The Red Bush was and is a wild plant species occurring. Soon the demand could not be met. 1930 developed the physician and botanist Dr. Petter le Fras Nortier together with the local farmers field methods for moderate culture of rooibos. As a result, a thriving Rotbuschanbau developed around the town of Clanwilliam in the Cederberg Mountains. Farming methods were perfected and cultivated numerous varieties.

The euphoria of the farmer ultimately led to overproduction and early 1950s broke the price of a red bush. Therefore, the state Redbos Tea Control Board was established in 1954, documenting the production quantities, hygiene and quality and should control. Since 1993, this authority is privatized and support along with the University of Stellenbosch research to the tea plant.

Since the early 1990s Rooibos in Germany has become popular for infusion drinks as a caffeine -free alternative to tea. Rooibos grows only in the Cederberg Mountains in the southwest of the Republic of South Africa. In South Africa he is not just an everyday beverage, but is also used for cooking and baking as well as for the production of cosmetics or for coloring the hair.

Cultivation

Currently build about 300 farmers in South Africa rooibos. The rooibos is grown exclusively in the territory of the Cederberg Mountains about 200 km north of Cape Town, around the towns of Clanwilliam and Citrusdal world.

The farmers sow in February and March and in July plant the seedlings in the plantations. To harvest a shrub must be about 12 to 18 months old. The shrubs are harvested once a year from December to April. The shrubs are harvested for about five years and then cleared; then new shrubs are planted.

Harvesting, processing and marketing

The harvesting method is largely the same as in the early days of culture. The harvest of Rotbuschzweige done in the dormancy phase of the shrub from summer to early autumn. Although machines are used, but mostly harvested by hand with a sickle. The most environmentally friendly harvesting method is to divide only the young branches. The older branches remain on the bushes, which are thus bigger every year.

The cut branches are bundled brought to the collection point. The crop is chopped very finely and then squeezed to put the important chemical process (fermentation) in motion, leading to the typical color and flavor of rooibos tea. The cut and bruised branch pieces are moistened with water. The wet mass goes through 8 to 24 hours a favored by the warm climate fermentation. In this process, which could also be referred to as a type of oxidation, components are decomposed partly changed to some extent. After watering and aerating the tea is stored in heaps and he gets its typical reddish- brown color and sweet, fruity aroma. When this process is completed, the tea is spread on large areas to dry in the sun.

Then a sort of tea is conducted according to length, color and taste. At the end of rooibos tea is weighed, packed in large containers and sold to companies that repackage under their trade name this tea for end use in tea bags or in bulk form.

Green rooibos tea differs in that fermentation is avoided by most gentle handling of the harvested Rotbuschzweigen: The plants are carefully cut the branches carefully bundled and loose and dried immediately after the cut without adding water. During the drying time a continuous contact and moving must be ensured. After drying, yet the cleaning is done by sieving. The Green Rooibos tea has a much milder flavor and lighter than the fermented rooibos. It contains more phytochemicals ( polyphenols), where health benefits are attributed.

The rooibos tea is exported worldwide. In Germany, it has a market share of seven percent of the herbal and fruit market.

Ingredients

The ingredients of Aspalathus linearis, including phenols and flavonoids were referenced by Hegnauer. From a number of polyphenols in particular the flavonoids are scientifically well researched. The quantitatively most important flavonoids are the dihydrochalcone Aspalathin, next isoorientin, orientin, rutin, and vitexin isovitexin. These ingredients of rooibos tea are also bioavailable, as a study by the University of Braunschweig from 2010 occupied. During drying and fermenting the composition changed. Rooibos tea contains, in contrast to tea from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) no caffeine and low in tannins, making possible negative consequences such as bitter taste, dehydration or insomnia not occur.

1 cup of rooibos tea contains about:

• 0.07 mg of iron
• 0.22 mg fluoride
• 7.12 mg of potassium
• 1.09 mg of calcium
• 0.07 mg of copper
• 1.67 mg of magnesium
• 0.04 mg of manganese
• 6.16 mg sodium
• 0.04 mg of zinc
• 99 essential oils

Whether rooibos tea in addition rich in vitamin C (ascorbic acid ), it is shown contradictory in various publications.

Exposure to climate shift

As documented a report of Cape Town Wissenschaftspublizistin Leonie Joubert, the rooibos farms are increasingly threatened by desertification due to the global climate warming in their existence. The average life of the shrubs is therefore decreased from twelve to five years. Researchers from the regional organization Indigo Development & Change now try introgress particularly resistant wild rooibos varieties that are better adapted to harsh environmental conditions than the previous industrial crops. Stronger, drought-resistant wild species reach thus an age of up to 50 years, and often survive long drought.

System

The first publication of this kind took place in 1768 under the name ( basionym ) Psoralea linearis by Nicolaas Laurens Burman in Flora Indica ... nec non Prodromus Florae capensis, p.22 Rolf Dahlgren she put 1963 in Opera Botanica, Volume 9 ( 1), S. 283 in the genus Aspalathus. Other synonyms for Aspalathus linearis ( Burm.f. ) R.Dahlgren are: Aspalathus contaminatus auct, borbonia pinifolia Marloth. . The genus name is derived from the Greek word Aspalathus Aspalathos, this was the name of a fragrant shrub thrive in Greece. The specific epithet is a Latin word linearis and refers to the linear leaf shape.

Aspalathus linearis is part of the more than 200 species counted Aspalathus genus of the tribe Crotalarieae in the subfamily Faboideae within the Fabaceae family. This genus has its area of ​​distribution exclusively in South Africa ( capensis). But only the type rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis ) is used to Teegewinnung.

Swell

• Marcini Govender, June 2007: Aspalathus linearis ( Burm.f. ) R.Dahlgren at PlantZAfrica from the South African National Biodiversity Institute = SANBI. (Section Description, occurrence and use)