Red Bush
Botanical name: Aspalathus linearis
Family name: Fabaceae
Commercial names: Red Bush (Rooibos), Red Tea

Historical Background
As is the case with most African herbs, the indigenous Africans of the Cedarberg Mountains of South-Western Cape were the first to discover the fine, needle-like leaves of a reddish, shrub-like plant (hence the name, Rooibos, which literally
means “red bush”) can be used as a health tea, with an exceptional taste and aroma. The indigenous African Khoi-Khoi nation prepared beverages after they harvested the plants from its natural habitat with axes, bruised it with hammers, and left it to ferment in heaps, before drying it in the sun. Rooibos is still processed in much the same way today; only the
process is now slightly more mechanized. Red Bush is unique to South Africa and can be labeled as one of the success stories of Africa.
In 1904, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian immigrant, pioneer in the business area and a descendant from a family who had been in the tea industry in Europe for centuries, became interested in rooibos and began trading rooibos with the people

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