What turns rooibos red?

Oxidation after the leaves are cut and bruised

Rooibos Quiz: South Africa's Caffeine-Free Red Bush Tea

The needle-like leaves of a mountain shrub turn red when oxidized, giving a sweet, caffeine-free brew, and this rooibos quiz explores its story. Play 10 interactive questions on the Cederberg, the name red bush, Khoisan use, Benjamin Ginsberg, early cultivation, oxidation, green rooibos, low tannins, the EU protected designation and modern rooibos lattes.

Start Rooibos Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Country
Which country is rooibos from?
Region
In which mountain region does it grow?
Name
What does rooibos mean in Afrikaans?
Caffeine
How much caffeine does rooibos contain?
Plant
Is rooibos made from the tea plant Camellia sinensis?
Red
What turns rooibos red?
Green
What is green rooibos?
People
Who used rooibos long before commercial trade?
Trade
Who began trading rooibos commercially in 1904?
EU
What did rooibos receive from the EU in 2021?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which country is rooibos from?
Answer: South Africa
It grows in the Western Cape.
Q2: In which mountain region does it grow?
Answer: The Cederberg
The area has special soils and climate.
Q3: What does rooibos mean in Afrikaans?
Answer: Red bush
Its leaves turn red.
Q4: How much caffeine does rooibos contain?
Answer: None
It is naturally caffeine-free.
Q5: Is rooibos made from the tea plant Camellia sinensis?
Answer: No, it is a different shrub
It is Aspalathus linearis.
Q6: What turns rooibos red?
Answer: Oxidation after the leaves are cut and bruised
It is often called fermentation.
Q7: What is green rooibos?
Answer: Unoxidized rooibos
It tastes grassier.
Q8: Who used rooibos long before commercial trade?
Answer: The Khoisan people
They gathered wild plants.
Q9: Who began trading rooibos commercially in 1904?
Answer: Benjamin Ginsberg
He was a Russian immigrant.
Q10: What did rooibos receive from the EU in 2021?
Answer: Protected designation of origin status
It was a first for an African food.

Rooibos Quiz – South Africa's Caffeine-Free Red Bush Tea

Rooibos, meaning red bush in Afrikaans, comes from Aspalathus linearis, a shrub that grows naturally only in South Africa's Cederberg region. It is not related to the tea plant and contains no caffeine.

The Khoisan people used the plant long before trade. Benjamin Ginsberg began selling it commercially in 1904, and cultivation developed in the 1930s. Leaves are cut, bruised and oxidized, turning red, while green rooibos is left unoxidized.

Rooibos is low in tannins, giving a naturally sweet taste. In 2021 it gained protected designation of origin status in the European Union, the first African food to do so. It is now used in lattes and espresso-style drinks.

What This Quiz Teaches

Tea lovers will enjoy these questions.

Where rooibos grows
What makes it different
How it is processed
Who first used it
How it is protected

Did You Know?

Rooibos is often drunk with milk and sugar in South Africa.
Honeybush is a related South African tea.
It can be steeped for a long time without bitterness.
Harvests happen in summer.
Rooibos is popular in cosmetics.