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Actually, you might not yet know… that Rooibos features in weird, wonderful and often unexpected places, be it music, best-selling books, wine, desserts, or the stomach of a celebrity hippo! This section is for those fans who previously thought Rooibos is “only” a herbal tea and specialty ingredient that is unique, tasty, wholesome, pure, natural, refreshing, special, one-of-its-kind...
- At the Twelve Apostles Hotel in Cape Town (voted Africa's leading spa resort by the 2007 World Travel Awards), you can tuck into Rooibos ice-cream, as part of their Fynbos inspired menu.
- In fact, Rooibos ice-cream was even served at the wedding of celebrity couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.
- Canadian band The Stills has a song with Rooibos in its title, named after the inspiring tea that guitarist/singer Tim Fletcher had been drinking lots of.
- Simon Le Bon, lead singer of top 80s band, Duran Duran, never goes on stage without drinking a cup of Rooibos first. (Then it must be good for the voice as well!)
- Italian company, Bvlgari, has a series of tea-based perfumes with a hot seller called Eau Parfumee au The Rouge . This unique fragrance features notes of bergamot, orange, pink pepper, fig pulp, Yunnan red tea, walnut, musk, and of course Rooibos.
- At one of the largest bull insemination stations in Europe, Munchen Grub, Germany, you can find a bull called Rooibos!
- Jessica, a South African celebrity who’s appeared on Korean, Japanese and German television, the movie Mr Bones, etc. is known for downing as much as 20 litres of Rooibos tea a day. One can’t expect anything else from a hippopotamus, adopted and raised by the very much “human” Joubert family of Hoedspruit in the Limpopo Province. (Check Jessica out on www.youtube.com or her own website at www.jessicahippo.co.za)
- At Stellar Winery, situated at Trawal north of Cape Town in Rooibos country, Hanepoot grapes are dried on a bed of straw and Rooibos tea before being crushed and made into organic wine. This infuses the grapes with the fragrance of Rooibos for their dessert wine aptly called “Heaven-on-Earth”. This might just be the secret recipe that helped Stellar to numerous awards at the BioFach International Organic Wine Awards in 2007.
- Precious Ramotswe, main character of the widely acclaimed best-seller series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a real Rooibos tea addict. The books, written by Alexander McCall Smith, are set in Botswana and the fictional female detective never fails to entertain her clients and guests with a cup of Rooibos. “This is a tea for people who really appreciate tea. Ordinary tea is for anyone,” Mme Ramotswe says. A mini-series adapted from the books is now showing on UK television and is set to make Rooibos even more famous!
- The world's largest flavour company, Givaudan, named Rooibos as one of THE flavours to watch in its 2007 annual forecast called FlavourVision.
- Rooibos can be used as a natural dye due to its rich red colour.
- If you’re looking for some extra flavour in your cooking, Rooibos can be used as a base in stews or soups or even meat marinades.
- Ready for some gardening? Rooibos tea can be mixed into the soil; improving drainage and helping plants grow. Snails don’t like Rooibos (they must be the only ones) so sprinkle some rooibos ‘dust’ on the surface of the garden and you’ll see them ‘run’.
- Rooibos Espresso (trademarked as red espresso) has caught the world’s eye as an innovative product that makes tea trendy and cappuccinos healthy. It is Rooibos tea specially ground to be used in espresso machines and has won various awards such as the America Specialty Coffee Association’s ‘Best New Product’ in the Specialty Beverage category in 2008.
- The Cederberg area, where Rooibos is grown, is one of the richest regions of Southern African rock art. The rock art, left behind by the San people who originally inhabited the area, is said to be from 300 to 6000 years old. Maybe drinking Rooibos tea inspired them.
Let us know if you find Rooibos somewhere else unexpected and we'll add it to this list!
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