I drink it constantly for my allergies & sinuses, esp in the wintertime, and it's done wonders. I order it from here. [Not a shill!]

Which one do you buy, hall of robots? Have you tried more than one of those? I truly love the taste of this tea! I was just going to order the sampler from adagio. I have one rooibos from them, and really love it.

Even Celestial Seasons has a rooibos now, and it's actually very good. It's called Madagascar Red Vanilla, and it has a nice illio of a lion on the box.

Oh, and I see it's pronounced roy-boss, via your link. I never knew how to say it, so thanks!

*swoons* I love roobios! A friend turned me on to it about a year ago and I was instantly taken.

hall of robots, thanks for the heads up about the allergies!

And, of course, I can't even spell it right: rooibos. Rooibos.

ico... I'm drinking Celestial Seasonings Red Safari Spice rooibios tea like a fiend now, and it's all because of your tea time post. I was looking for the ingredients for pliskie's recipe, but couldn't find the cardamom that day... but did buy a box of the Red Safari - and ended up going back and buying the last three they had on the shelf the next day.

Wha, they have another rooibos? Hmmm I think I have to go to the store now...hee. I'm drinking the other CS rooibios right now, which is actually called Madagascar Vanilla Red. It's so good!

*clinks tea cups with taz*

Fris, what kind do you drink? Something we can get online, I hope ;)

The Red Safari Spice is similar to what we were talking about in the other thread... The ingredients are rooibios, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, ginger, cloves, hibiscus, pepper, blackberry leaves, chicory.. and (surprise!) banana.

ico, 90% of the tea I drink is from here, but that's because it's what we serve at work. It's damned tasty, in beautiful, sewn 'silken tea pouches'...and priced accordingly. I'll go after something considerably less expensive for drinking here at home.

I digs the red bush.

Fris, from your link, I'm trying to rationalize spending 42.00 on a box of tea bags (the African Nectar rooibos) by telling myself that it's only 42 cents a cup of tea, which really isn't that bad ;)

Heh, Hugh. Neither part of the double entendre strikes me as surprising.

ico, no, it's not, really. I haven't had many rooibos, but the quality in all of ML's teas is exceptional. They make my mouth water over teas I ordinarily run from. For example, they have a Marrakesh Mint that's uh-maz-ing: heady and sweet without sugar. Straight out of the bag it's nearly as good as a properly prepared Morrocan pot of mint tea. Still it's a bit decadent when you compare it to Stash or Celestial Seasonings.

Damn, now I really want to have a tea party with you guys or a tea exhange.

Hmm. Haven't tried Rooibos. Will do.

Tea Exchange sounds like a cool idea. Tea's pretty durable in the mail.

Which one do you buy, hall of robots? Have you tried more than one of those? I truly love the taste of this tea! I was just going to order the sampler from adagio. I have one rooibos from them, and really love it.

I've tried and liked them all, but I usually get the Freshpak ["Super Grade"] and complement it with a little bit of sweetbread in the mornings.

PS I do like Mighty Leaf, but I find that their bags perhaps have too much leaves in them? I dunno... the ML tea I make is always a bit too strong or thick. Personal preference, I know.

selfnoise, are brewing in the cup or in a pot? We brew in the pot, which makes 2.5 to 3 cups and the proportions seem about right.

In a large paper cup. My only interaction with ML is buying it at a coffee shop. Which is, I will admit, pretty far from the ideal circumstance. I'll have to give it a try in the pot.

and complement it with a little bit of sweetbread in the mornings.

hall of robots, I had to read that twice. We serve sweetbreads at work, which are, you know, neither sweet nor bread. But I'm betting the rooibos does go nicely with something sweet.

I'm referring to something like rusks—they make a variation at the local corner coffee & tea place—or scones. Makes a nice combination while surfing the Monday morning news.

Good stuff, the rooibos.

I love Roo. Both as a drink, and as a bath tea. I use it as a strong base for my SpecialTea. I buy it in bulk, from an importer.

The INCI info from the distributer includes the following text:
Rooibos tea is a natural beverage which doesn’t contain caffeine, artificial colors, additives or preservatives. According to studies conducted in South Africa and Japan Rooibos has been shown to aid in health problems such as insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension. Studies also show that Rooibos tea provides anti-spasmodic benefits which could relieve stomach cramping and colic. Rooibos tea has been used to treat allergies such as hay fever, asthma and eczema. It is also used to treat irritated skin by brewing the tea and placing it directly on the affected areas. Rooibos contains anti-oxidants which can help slow the aging process and boost the immune system. Rooibos tea doesn’t contain oxalic acid which makes it a good beverage for people prone to kidney stones. Rooibos contains the minerals, copper, iron and potassium, calcium, fluoride, zinc, manganese, alpha-hydroxy ( for healthy skin ) and magnesium (for the nervous system ) are also components of this tea. Rooibos tea is also used as an additive in toiletries either as a powder or as an infusion in water and then added to the toiletry recipe.

I buy groovy tea bags from Japan and mix up Arnica flower, Calendula flower, Chamomile flower, Comfrey leaf, Green tea, Lemongrass, Orange peel, Rooibos tea, Rosebuds and petals, and make Bath Tea and Cookies for a local spa.

Point being, I have access to buying Rooibos in bulk, so if you guys want to make your own...i.e. buy some tea bags and fill them, we could set up some sort of "prebuy" thing, where I get a list of who wants how much, then I can order and ship it off to you guys.

I don't have pricing off the top of my head, but if there's interest, I can find out. I'd venture a guess at around $15.00 a pound, but I could be way off there.

I'm in.

PsychoKitty, please post some photos of your products, if you have them? Pretty please with psycho kittens on top? I'm dying to know what they look like, especially the bath tea. It sound fantastic! I'm very nosy, and would love to know how you've packaged it, and what the labels look like...all that good stuff.

And thanks for all the cool info on rooibos!

Update: duh...I clicked on the link in your profile... I love the big fizzy things! Must investigate further...