Stiftung Warentest
The Germans drink the most from it: Rooibos tea is so good
Rooibos tea, the national drink of South Africa
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Rooibos tea is exported to more than 60 countries around the world. Most of them to Germany. But is it safe to drink South Africa’s national drink? Stiftung Warentest tested eleven products and gave a clear answer.
Attention tea lovers: Rooibos tea, the South African national drink, can be enjoyed without hesitation. At least most of them. This emerges from the test by “Stiftung Warentest”. Out of eleven products, seven do well. A rooibos tea fails.
Alnatura organic tea exceeds the legal maximum level for chlorate. According to Alnatura, this is “due to the production process”. Although chlorate can inhibit iodine absorption, the infusion of Alnatura tea does not pose any health risk, according to the judgment of “Stiftung Warentest”. For that, an adult would need to drink around 600 cups a day.
A positive aspect is that all teas contain hardly any plant toxins, the questionable pyrrolizidine alkaloids. They can accidentally get into the tea via other herbs that have been harvested at the same time. They are considered liver-damaging and possibly carcinogenic. Rooibos itself is a legume and does not form any pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
Rooibos: loose or from the bag?
So which rooibos should you drink? Stiftung Warentest recommends two tea bags: organic rooibos from Gepa for 7.50 euros per 100 grams and the cheap one from Lidl for 1.78 euros. The best loose rooibos is an organic product and comes from Tee Handelskontor Bremen for 5.75 euros.
Opinions differ on whether loose tea is better than tea in a bag. However, microscopy shows that loose teas are treated more carefully than those in bags. Rooibox gets its red-brownish color through fermentation. There is also green, i.e. non-fermented rooibos that tastes grassy. The red-brown rooibos convinces its followers with a mild, slightly sweet taste.
Good to know: Rooibos is the first regionally protected food from the African continent and is allowed to bear the red and yellow EU seal of origin.
You can find the whole test here for a fee!