Absolute Tea

My Assembled Rooibos History

I thought I was going to have more to say on the subject of Rooibos, but there is just so much to say and so many better places to get that information. Instead, I think I'll just throw some links together that do a good job of providing history and background information on rooibos tea. Happy clicking.


Teas Etc.



This is a great site if you don't want to waste time learning the basics of Rooibos history. The site is set up with info bulleted under subtitles to find what you want to know fast.

I can't say I trust this site 100%, but what it has to say is pretty much correct from what I already know.

It also doesn't go into too much depth on some of the topics and leaves a lot unsaid; however, for someone who knows nothing about Rooibos tea, this is a good place to start.


Wikipedia



I believe this site speaks for itself, as far as quality goes. It is no different under the rooibos section either.

The strengths of this site are in the levels of detail and hard to find information that is contained. As well, there are many links to other resources to back up everything that is said, and this increases the sites trustworthiness.

A down side to Wikipedia in giving the history of rooibos is the lack of variety in subjects. It would appear from the amount of content that all areas are covered, but this is not the case. The site too frequently elaborates on scientific details that are not interesting have too high of a technical aspect to actually use the information. Overall, this is a great place to stop if you want to get to the roots of detail and have it all be credible.


There are plenty of other sites out there that can tell you a thing or two about Rooibos teas, but why waste your time with that when you could just buy some yourself and find out all you need to know. I always recommend getting your tea from tea shops if you are new to tea as they can give you advice on how to make it and other recommendations, but if your looking for variety and a really cheap price, then I suggest you look here...


Special Teas


This place has a huge selection of rooibos teas, and will tell you a little about each tea when you click on a flavor. Their prices are very competitive as well.

If you search the site a little deeper you can also find their suggested brewing methods and other bits about how to make your tea taste even better.






Adagio Teas


Here is another excellent site that uses images and color very well. The selection is fairly big compared to most places and you can find all sorts of side information on rooibos tea.

Prices on this site run a tad higher than most, but the quality of the tea they suppliy more than makes up for it. They also guarantee freshness with every order.





My History With Rooibos

About 3 or 4 years ago I was vacationing in California and eating at many different restaurants, and generally enjoying a life of eating anything and everything. Well, sometime early on in that trip my stomach became extremely volatile and sensitive to all sorts of foods, but namely milk products. For a two years food would never be the same.

I couldn't eat many of things I loved. My diet changed radically to appease that pinging pain I always felt in the gut. It was torture. I felt like I was condemned to eating bread and water the rest of my life, so I went searching for something. Something different. Something that I could eat without feeling a pain in the gut.

I started with beverages, mostly because I wanted a replacement for hot chocolate, because I was craving it like mad. Coffee was close, but I needed a sweeter taste, a taste that would make me forget the chocolately sweetness of cocoa and sugar. So I looked into the world of exotic teas and what I found was rooibos. Green Rooibos Oasis that is. Just the name alone had me intrigued and I had to try it.

If you want to know how much I enjoyed it I recommend reading my last post.

From that point on I was hooked. I tried more and more combinations and I branched out into other types of tea. Even today I'm still taken by how good this type of tea tastes and I could smell those loose leaves forever.

Something else to note from all of this is how my stomach changed again. In the beginning the weirdest thing was developing lactose intollerance out of the blue, but I guess it happens all the time. Well, something even weirder, after drinking tea for a year straight I noticed that I could eat more and more food with out problems and had less intollerance to milk. It was great.

I can't say for sure that it was tea alone that did it or if it was time itself. I also think going to Mexico, getting sick, and taking some ciprofloxacin helpped out more. The tequila also seemed to be a miracle healer. Either way, I credit the discovery of this tea as my cure for my stomach problem. I still can't eat large quantities of milk products and ice cream is out of the question, but there is no more hurt, and that's all that counts.

So if there ever was a question on why I like tea so much now you know.

posted by Michael at 2:56 PM