What's the difference between green rooibos and red rooibos? I mean
aside from the oxidation of red rooibos? Is it anything like with green
tea, where (some believe?) there are more antioxidants available? How
about the taste difference?

> What's the difference between green rooibos and red rooibos? I mean
> aside from the oxidation of red rooibos? Is it anything like with green
> tea, where (some believe?) there are more antioxidants available? How
> about the taste difference?

I've read on several sites that red rooibos is slightly lower in
antioxidants than green tea but that green rooibos is slightly higher.
Who knows how authoritative this is. I bought a box of Numi teas green
rooibos and it seemed just like the red except lighter in color and
flavor. This probably was not the best quality rooibos, however. I plan
to buy some top grade green from South Africa and try that soon.

"Dan Stromberg" > wrote in message
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> What's the difference between green rooibos and red rooibos? I mean
> aside from the oxidation of red rooibos? Is it anything like with green
> tea, where (some believe?) there are more antioxidants available? How
> about the taste difference?

I heard from a tea vendor that green rooibos is a lot higher in antioxidants
than red rooibos or true tea. The flavor of the green rooibos varies quite a
bit in my experience. I was told (by the same vendor) that this depends on
the season in which it's harvested. If it's during the warmer part of the
year, the leaves darken and it tastes more like red rooibos than if it's
harvested during the spring before it gets hot. If this is true, I prefer
the spring harvest. To me it tastes a bit like a cross between a green and a
black tea. It doesn't have the smokiness of the red rooibos. Unfortunately,
it seems harder to find than the stuff that's almost as dark as the
red/oxidized version.

Agalena