.vom‘ccd Irv/arnicrsfrom ii‘ild lnrslics. sonic olii'liic/i can lic up to a kilo/ncirc apart. I! '.v a gcnnrnclv lt‘l/(l product. and onlv ilic lips of Ilic lcai'cs~ arc lllll'l't’.\'l('(l.
L l‘ii'st thing I taste is some vanilla. Solt caramel svveetness in scent. This is very pleasant —- and it delinitely has character. It‘s not overpowering. but it has a vvonderl‘ul. slightly sour taste on the side ol' the tongue.
C It doesn't leave that dryness that the lileven ()'(‘lock rooibos gave. B We like it because it tastes clean and light. I'm delighted you picked up on the vanilla taste. Laurent: 1 think that‘s a really important part ol‘ its character.
Dragonfly Fair Trade Organic 'I‘lic packaging is ii'oriliicr-loo/ring. but this product coincs'jioni Ilic larch prodaccrs ol'rooilios'.
B It has a good strong aroma. and is quite dark in colour. We often lind that teas can be darker when more of' the stalk is cut down in the harvesting process. But this certainly smells good.
C For me it doesn‘t follow through! L Oh no. the smell is quite nice: there‘s some pear and vanilla in there. I like it.
B It dries the throat. There‘s more llavour than the others but it's short in taste: there's no at‘tei'taste.
N I reckon it’sjust a little tasteless!
Equal Exchange Rooibos
The main rooibos lrlcnd produced by [fr/rial livcliangc. xt‘lair Iradc organic product. unlike sonic ol'rlic otlicr mass market ltlcnds‘.
C Hmm. This has quite delicate tlavouring. lt's mild. not really giving me much. Pleasant. but not full ol‘ flavour.
L Very weak in flavour. but because of the absence of tannin it‘s quite nice. There‘s a little bit of” green aroma. almost like cut grass — but it‘s not entirely unpleasant. And it's certainly weaker in vanilla than the wild one. Ol‘ the six we‘ve had so far. there's really not a bad tea among them.
100 THE LIST 3: Jun—'3 Jul £006
? EAT&DR|NK
Dragonfly Organic Cape Malay Rooibos Chai lflcndcd ii'iI/i \piccs including cardamom. cinnamon. pc/r/rcr and (‘lrrl’(’\.
L \Vovv? Immediately. it's ov erpovv ering. It smells like ('hristmasT .-\ll these aromatic
spices. 8 But it doesn‘t deliver on the palate as it does on the nose.
L This is one tea you may need to add milk to: it‘s a little acid. C It doesn‘t taste as strong as it smells. ll. it did. it \sould be too much. But it's very pleasant. N lior me it's the nicest one so tar.
Dragonfly Evening Blend Rooibos
.‘l lrlcild (ll. 7W} rooibos it ill! .t’ll’i lioncvlmv/i Ica.
C ()oh. you can smell the
honey bush tea in this. It slightly reminds me ol‘dandelioiis. That is not a had taste. but I can't imagine drinking it in the evening.
L Yes. and dandelions make you go to the toilet. You vvouldn‘t really vvant that at night? You can taste the tea behind the favours. and a little vanilla. It's a good balance.
B .\'ice balance of tannin
Dragonfly Earl Grey Rooibos lilcndcd it'll/I oil ol'lrcijuanioi.
L This is not an liai‘l (ir‘eyl It hasn't got an liarl (irey taste. .'\nd bergamot is such a strong llavour. vvhile the taste ol' rooibos is so mild! The bergamot is alvvays going to kill (til the rooibos.
B It is pleasant enough. but it doesn't fulfil its promise as [far] (irey.
Dragonfly Rooibos Vanilla llil/i additional vanilla csscncc. B Wovv. That‘s vanilla alright?
C It's a bit 'liquoricey'
L Reminds me ol svveeties at the l'unl'air. It‘s a blend I rather like. N Yes. it‘s a pleasant svveet blend.
Lemon Love
'l'lic li'a Spot 's lrcsi-scl/ing Ica. Ilirs lrlcnd has lcniongras's and marigold [walls in l/lc I‘ooilms‘ ltaxc.
Bl like this. It reminds me of lemon cake.
L I agree. this is not a tea to drink it you want to lose vveight ~- it makes you want to eat a sponge cake?
N That's perl‘ect — I love it?
L The only thing I vvould say is: don't over brevv it. or you could end up with a little bitterness.
B The good thing about rooibos is that you can‘t over-stevv it. It's so mellovv and Iovv in tannin that you can keep it going for ages. ()ne South African l'ariner I met used to leave his bag in his thermos llask oi rooibos overnight. Then he‘d pick out the bag on his vvay to vvork in the morning.
72m ai‘ailalrlcfrom licalililood .viorcs' .Vlli'lt as Roots and l‘il‘llils‘ or Real Foods. from vii/n'rniarkcis. and/iron) ti'li‘ti'.Iltr’fr’u.\‘pol.i'o.tlk
Ban'y Murdoch, of Edinburgh- based fair trade importer Equal Exchange, has recently returned from a trip to South Africa to see rooibos in production. Here, he explains the process.
‘The malOrity of rOOibos that is sold in the UK is produced on a large plantation which has been family owned for generations. This !S then processed in a town called Clanwrlling, where 70% of the world's roorbos is handled within one large factOry.
'The roorbos itself is usually harvested once every three years. in order for the rOOibos to grow to its appropriate length.
'Once harvested. the roorbos is weighed so the farmers Wlll know how much they are due to be paid if they own the land. or similarly what a normal worker should be paid. These are the farmers who have been brought up drinking tea made from wild rooibos as children. Many of the farmers in the area are mixed race. and historically have been among the most economically marginalised of any non-white people in the country. Roorbos is possibly the only means of earning a living that exists for them.
‘The tea is harvested using a machine that would otherwise be used to cut tobacco in a tobacco factory and is then spread out on a large concrete area that uses natural sunlight in order to dry the leaves. When first cut. it is a green product which looks and smells very similar to grass. In order to dry it out. water is applied and the natural sunlight enables a fermentation process to take place. As the sun beats down on the wet leaves. it gets surpriSIngly hot inside the mulch.
'A heavy object is then rolled over the leaves in order to release chemicals within the rooibos. and this enables it to ferment to the red colour familiar to rooibos drinkers. The leaves will then go through a sterilisation process. a procedure which uses steam to ensure there's no unwanted residue in the leaves after they have been left out overnight.
“Fair trade is obviously a key part of Equal Exchanges approach to domg business in South Africa. and we work with farmers of the Suid Bokkeveld and Wuppertal regions. These are people who were marginalised during the apartheid years and who had to take shelter in a Moravian Christian mission. 160 farmers are supported in this way in the production of ‘tame' rooibos (this is what the South Africans call the ordinary product). Wild rooibos. by contrast. is a wild subspecies of the rooibos family and bushes grow up to a kilometre apart. These products are helping the farmers build viable. sustainable businesses.‘