Food and Wine: Tea Room

Is it possible to be transported to the sun-drenched hills in the south of France on a tendril of fragrant steam? The answer is unequivocally yes—if you are indulging in a hot cup of Rooibos Provence tea. Heady with lavender and hints of rose, the drink has an almost magical ability to lift flagging spirits.

It starts with a look. Temptingly displayed in a fan-shaped array of small glass cylinders on the counter at Coffee & Crema, the loose-leaf tea resembles a violet- and cherry-colored potpourri. Popping open the cap releases a delightful fragrance to match. Shop owner, Shannon Hudgens, explains the shade and scent come from a blend of lavender, rosehips, dried currants, rose leaves and petals, raisins, and dried blueberries. Once brewed, the tea itself turns rosy amber, and the taste is of a subtle, yet sweet, fruit.

Contributing to the overall blush and flavor is the tea’s eponymous ingredient rooibos (pronounced roo-ee-bos). It comes from a rare shrub grown only in the Cedarberg area north of Cape Town in South Africa, 2,000 feet above sea level. Rooibos literally means “red bush” in Afrikaans, and likely refers to the fermentation process, which turns the leaves from green to dark red.

But rooibos is packing more than just a gentle perfume. Research has found it to be a rich, natural source of antioxidants with its high level of flavonoids, which may help prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, and stroke. Ditto for rosehips and lavender. When combined with the iron present in currants, blueberries, and raisins, you have one powerful brew with the potential to ease a variety of modern ills. However, I still prefer to think of it as a passport to the lavender fields of Provence. All for a couple of bucks.