Does Rooibos Tea Have Health Benefits and Is It Safe?

Answer:

Rooibos tea, also called red tea or red bush tea, is an herbal tea made from the fermented leaves of Aspalathus linearis, a plant native to South Africa. The fermentation of the leaves produces the traditional reddish-brown color and earthy, woody, slightly sweet taste of the tea (Heinrich, J Agric Food Chem 2012).

Green, unfermented rooibos tea leaves are also sold. Green rooibos tea has a mildly sweet, grassy/hay flavor, and may be higher in antioxidants than red rooibos tea (Standley, J Agric Food Chem 2001; (de Beer, J Sci Food Agric 2024), but it can also be more expensive.

The main flavonoid in rooibos tea is aspalathin. Rooibos tea also contains very small amounts of other flavonoids such as rutin and quercetin, and luteolin, as well as small amounts calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

Rooibos tea is often promoted for heart health, lowering blood sugar, and reducing stress and inflammation.

Sign in as a member to learn if there is good clinical evidence of health benefits from rooibos tea, how rooibos differs from green tea and black tea, and about the safety and potential drug interactions of rooibos tea.

(Also see our Green Tea Review, which includes our Top Picks among green teas and supplements.)