Rooibos Tea - What of it? page 2

[Paleobird]

I like it, but not all brands are equal. I wonder what Paleobird likes since she's had the real thing.

Well, IMHO, rooibos tastes great just as is but a lot of tea companies try to sell you rooibos blends with lavender flowers, orange peel, vanilla, (and some brands sneak in some fake sweeteners). I buy mine from The Tea Spot.com. If you buy 2 one lb packages, the shipping is free.

[ElaineC]

My South African relatives put us onto this ages ago. I like it, and while it can't quite replace coffee for me, its a good alternative once I've made it over the mid-morning crunch at work. Not sure of the health benefits other than there's supposed to be many. Its good hot or cold, and its versatile. Good stuff

[Paleobird]

I've also been making tea jello with this and some lime juice. The really firm kind of jello, knox blox style. It's edible iced tea.

[Adrianag]

Has anybody used it to make Kombucha?

[Paleobird]

Has anybody used it to make Kombucha?

I'm planning on giving this a try when I get back from Africa (don't want to buy a scoby and all that right before leaving). I don't see why it wouldn't work. The fermentation process in all about the sugar. The tea is just something to dilute it in.

[PaleoMom]

I'm planning on giving this a try when I get back from Africa (don't want to buy a scoby and all that right before leaving). I don't see why it wouldn't work. The fermentation process in all about the sugar. The tea is just something to dilute it in.

I think the real tea in important for kombucha, not just the sugar. I think if you use rooibos it might work a few times, but eventually it will kill the scoby.

On the jello note though, I do make kombucha jello! ( I only use cold water). I add the kids liquids vitamins to it and have knox blox vitamin/probiotic snacks

[Paleobird]

I think the real tea in important for kombucha, not just the sugar. I think if you use rooibos it might work a few times, but eventually it will kill the scoby.

I think you're wrong there PaleoMom. This company Tea For Brewing Kombucha and several others sell lots of different teas specifically for making kombucha including rooibos. I was concerned about the caffeine in kombucha since I am medically restricted to zero caffeine due to a seizure disorder, so I wrote to the guy who runs this company and he said that any herbal tea would work just fine. It's just the flavoring device. The sugar is the scoby's food.

[PaleoMom]

Thanks for the link Paleobird, that is the first I've heard of it working. I think I'll try a batch!

For what it's worth, I too am extremely sensitive to caffeine, to the extent that even a single cup of white tea can sometimes be too much. With that said, I have absolutely no caffeine symptoms from kombucha. They say the caffeine gets eaten with the sugar and I believe it based on my personal experience. I brew it at home with black tea.

I have also tried it with green and white which both taste great, but I felt the detox effect seemed lessened quite a bit. I'm curious how the rooibos will feel on this front.

[mozzy10]

Great taste. I drink it in the evenings as it's got no caffeine.

[Paleobird]

Thanks for the link Paleobird, that is the first I've heard of it working. I think I'll try a batch!

For what it's worth, I too am extremely sensitive to caffeine, to the extent that even a single cup of white tea can sometimes be too much. With that said, I have absolutely no caffeine symptoms from kombucha. They say the caffeine gets eaten with the sugar and I believe it based on my personal experience. I brew it at home with black tea.

I have also tried it with green and white which both taste great, but I felt the detox effect seemed lessened quite a bit. I'm curious how the rooibos will feel on this front.

Yeah, I don't seem to have the normal jittery effects of caffeine with store bought kombucha either. Perhaps the caffeine does get consumed too. I feel like rooibos is the greatest detox/ immune system booster ever. Combining that with the fermentation aspect of kombucha would be even cooler.

The guy who runs that site I linked you to is really great. He sells all the "stuff" for making kombucha but gives away a series of tutorial videos for free, even if you don't buy anything. He has this continuous brew technique that involves a water cooler size brew tank with a spigot. You just leave the scoby in place and tap off what you need into bottles for secondary fermentation and replace with new tea at the top. It sounds like a lot less hassle than sterilizing everything and fussing with strainers and funnels, etc. I am hoping to put him in touch with Mark so that maybe we can have a kombucha brewing workshop at PrimalCon next year.