What in the world is....Rooibos?

Today's "What in the world is?" focuses on one of my favorite afternoon friends: ROOIBOS TEA (pronounced "roy boss")

There is nothing as good as a warm cup of rooibos on a cold New England afternoon!

Rooibos is as beautiful red tea that hails from South Africa and is also referred to as "African Red Bush" tea. It has a lovely naturally sweet flavor (it needs nothing to sweeten it!) and is naturally caffeine free. Do you believe me when I say I don't *do* caffeine? Funny how that freaks people out. I wonder if people could give up their meat more easily than their caffeine? I digress...

So here are some of the cool details of rooibos, courtesy of wikipedia:

"Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries, particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin^[3] and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves.

Rooibos is purported to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.^[6]

Two rooibos flavonoids, quercetin and luteolin have been known to have cancer fighting qualities ^[7]. Rooibos does not contain the antioxidant Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).^[8]

Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating infantile colic, allergies, asthma and dermatological problems."

So basically, it's super good for you, easy to find at any grocery store, and won't keep you up all night. If you're a Starbucks person, try their vanilla rooibos soy latte. It's about $3.00 and is heavenly (pictured below).
If you're in the mood to treat yourself, for about $13 you can get a tin of the BEST of the best (in my opinion!). It's this "Double Red" from The Republic Of Tea (baby bro and the husband, here is a gift opportunity shout out :) Okay dear readers, tell me, what hot beverage are you enjoying these days?