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closeSumner Tea Madame teaches benefits of African ‘red bush’ tea
Tea Time in Africa event focuses on African beverage featured in READS novel
Roxanne Cooke
A centuries-old beverage called “bush tea” made an appearance at the Sumner Pierce County Library last Thursday.
The tea, commonly referred to as rooibos (pronounced ROY-bus), plays an important role in the Pierce County READS novel, “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” said Carol Bell, retired managing librarian for the Sumner Pierce County Library.
The best-selling book, by Alexander McCall Smith, is about a Botswanian woman who starts her own detective business. As part of the first Pierce County READS program, the community is encouraged to read it together and participate in events with themes relating to the book.
At “Tea Time in Africa,” local tea shop owner LaDonna Olmstead brought the African drink for sampling and shared her knowledge on what is often called a miracle drink.
Rooibos has been known to help remedy or calm insomnia, nausea, hypertension and many other ailments, Olmstead said. It’s full of antioxidants and has no tannins, which give a slight bitterness to tea. Rooibos is also caffeine-free.
“We are trying to spread the word,” she said. ““This beverage just covers all the bases when it comes to health.”
“Bush tea” comes from the Aspalathus linearis plant, which can only be successfully grown in South Africa, she said. The plant is a large bush made up of tiny flowers and needles. It’s a wild legume from the bean family and has been around for centuries.
To create rooibos, the needles on the plant are chopped finely, set out in the sun for approximately 24 hours, then cured up to three months to remove moisture, Olmstead said. Next, it’s sifted and grated.
“The finer, the better,” she said.
The result is reddish in color, can never be oversteeped or made bitter. Rooibos has a naturally sweet, fruity taste.
“It’s truly a lovely beverage,” Olmstead said.
There’s also green version of rooibos that is not oxidized, resulting in an even higher amount of antioxidants than its red counterpart.
To Rita Oglesbee, the health benefits are astounding.
“I was very intrigued by it,” said Oglesbee, a member of the Friends of the Sumner Library. “I’m gonna live to 200 now.”
Another Friend of the Library, Marcha Lindberg, came to support the library but now has developed a liking for rooibos.
“It was a delicious learning experience,” she said. “I just like supporting our library.”