Iced Rooibos Fruit Tea, A Refreshingly Healthy, Sugar-Free Summer Cooler
Iced rooibos fruit tea is low in sugar and high in anti-oxidants. It’s the perfect way to cool down and rehydrate all summer long!
As a Southerner, I grew up on the tradition of sweet tea and lemonade. These are our favourite sweet, cooling beverages. Of course, when they’re made at home, both these drinks can be as healthy as they are delicious.
However, as more Moms have gone out to work, families have become much busier. For most folks, it just seems easier to buy sweet teas and lemonades at the supermarket.
Unfortunately, the truth is, those drinks are often filled with an alphabet soup of ingredients you would never give your kids at home. Artificial colours, preservatives, and corn syrup are just a few of the items that wind up in supermarket lemonades and sweet teas.
That’s why I prefer to make my own. Once you get into the routine, you’ll realise that making your own sweet tea at home is as quick and easy as buying it at the market. Most importantly, homemade sweet tea is made with all natural ingredients you select yourself. That’s why I make my iced fruit tea with proudly South African, caffeine free, low tannin rooibos!
About Rooibos
Rooibos, which means red tea in Dutch, is a South African herb indigenous to the Western Cape. So, it as actually a tisane (herbal tea) rather than a tea! When it is brewed, this tisane has a light amber, reddish tone and mildly sweet, fruity flavour.
Rooibos has no calories or caffeine and it is very low in tannins. Moreover, it is a rich, natural source of antioxidants and the only natural source of aspalathin. Rooibos has proven cancer fighting properties, and recent research suggests it may also play an important role in fighting heart disease and diabetes. Thus, when you serve your family a tall glass of iced rooibos fruit tea, you know you’re taking care of their health.
About this Recipe
This is one of those recipes that’s so simple, it’s almost a non-recipe. It contains just three ingredients: rooibos tea, water, and fruit juice. No sugar. No additives. No preservatives.
The thing I really like about making iced tea this way is that you can vary the flavours depending on your menu, your family’s tastes, and the season. Any fruit juice will do. At home, we enjoy:
- Pineapple
- Granadilla (a.k.a. Passion Fruit)
- Mango
- Strawberry
- Peach
- Orange (particularly fresh squeezed)
- Apple
- Grape, and
- Fruit punch.
I hope you will try this quick, easy recipe and never buy boxed iced tea or add cups and cups of sugar to your tea ever again! Bon appétit!
Iced Rooibos Fruit Tea, A Refreshingly Healthy, Sugar-Free Summer Cooler
Ingredients
- 3 rooibos tea bags
- 6 cups water
- 4 cups passion fruit juice (or juice of your choice)
Instructions
- Bring the water to a rolling boil and pour it over the 3 tea bags. Then, allow to steep until the tea turns a rich, dark brown, about 25 minutes. Place the tea in the fridge.
- When the tea is chilled add 4 cups of juice to the tea. Stir to combine and serve immediately over ice.