Rooibos Iced Tea Benefits
No caffeine, no bitterness and almost no calories if you skip the sugar. What rooibos has really been shown to do, what's still lab talk, and how to make a pitcher for the fridge.
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Rooibos iced tea is rooibos, the red herb from South Africa, brewed strong and poured over ice. Cold or hot, the benefits are the same, and the solid ones are simple: no caffeine, far fewer tannins than black tea, and almost no calories as long as you don't sweeten it. One six-week trial also found better cholesterol numbers in adults who drank six cups a day. The weight loss and skin claims you'll see on tea-brand blogs don't come from studies of people drinking it.
Its best use is the glass it replaces: a soda or a sweet bottled tea, or a late iced coffee that would keep you up. For a first pitcher, Numi rooibos is the box I'd start with, about $6 for 18 bags.
What is rooibos?
Rooibos, also sold as red bush tea, is made from the fermented leaves of Aspalathus linearis, a shrub that grows in South Africa. It isn't related to the tea plant, so there's no caffeine in it at all.
Brewed, it's a deep amber-red cup, naturally a little sweet, earthy and slightly nutty, with a note Numi calls vanilla. Poured over ice, that natural sweetness means you need less sugar, or none. And it's very hard to brew it bitter, so a long, strong steep for iced tea stays smooth.
Rooibos iced tea benefits, one by one
No caffeine. This is the clear win over iced black or green tea. You can pour a glass after dinner and it won't touch your sleep. If you love chai, the caffeine-free versions are made with rooibos too; how much caffeine the regular kind has is on does chai have caffeine.
Few tannins. WebMD notes rooibos has lower levels of tannins than black or green tea. Tannins are what make an over-steeped black tea taste dry and harsh, and they can interfere with how your body absorbs iron from food.
Almost no calories. Plain rooibos has close to none. A sweetened bottle is a different drink: honey or sugar add calories fast, so read the label on store-bought iced rooibos.
Better cholesterol numbers, in one trial. In a 2011 study, 40 South African adults at risk of heart disease drank six cups of traditional rooibos a day for six weeks. Their LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, fell from 4.6 to 3.9 mmol/L, triglycerides fell from 1.7 to 1.2, and HDL, the "good" cholesterol, rose from 0.9 to 1.2. Markers of fat damage in the blood dropped too. Those numbers were compared with the same people's results in a period without rooibos, not with a placebo group, so take it as a good sign rather than proof. Six cups came to about 1.2 liters a day, a little over a quart, which one 2-quart pitcher covers.
What rooibos hasn't been shown to do
A 2023 review gathered every rooibos study done on people it could find: 18 papers, 488 people in all, and doses from about 7 to 40 oz (200 ml to 1.2 liters) a day. Its authors conclude that the studies are too few and too small to confirm or rule out a real effect, and that most of what's known comes from animals and cells.
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Antioxidants. Rooibos has polyphenols unique to the plant, like aspalathin. In the 2011 trial, blood levels of polyphenols went up, but overall antioxidant capacity didn't change.
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Blood sugar. The review found some studies where rooibos lowered blood glucose, all on very small groups. It's no replacement for anything your doctor has you on.
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Blood pressure. One cup lowered the activity of an enzyme that raises blood pressure (ACE), but blood pressure itself didn't move, and a four-week trial didn't bring high blood pressure down. If that's your reason, hibiscus is the tea with an actual trial behind it; it's on my page about herbal tea benefits.
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Weight loss. WebMD mentions a study tying rooibos to leptin, a hunger hormone, but nothing shows the tea melts fat in people.
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Skin. There's no study of people drinking rooibos for their skin.
Rooibos tea side effects: who should be careful
Most adults can drink it daily without trouble. A few cautions are worth knowing:
- Liver. Doctors in New York published the case of a patient whose high liver enzymes were put down to drinking red bush tea, and a couple of research groups have raised the same question for heavy daily drinkers. It's rare, but if you have liver trouble, or a blood test comes back with high liver numbers, mention your rooibos habit to your doctor.
- Children. In the studies with kids, rooibos changed some markers of iron in the blood, and the 2023 review says it may not suit children as a daily drink. An occasional glass is a different matter.
- Allergies. In one small study of people with asthma or hay fever, skin reactions to four allergens, house dust and grass pollen among them, were stronger on the day they drank rooibos.
- Pregnancy or daily medicine. Ask your doctor before making any herbal tea a daily habit.
How to make rooibos iced tea
Ice melts and thins the tea, so you brew it twice as strong and let the ice bring it back. Rooibos suits this: WebMD notes it gets stronger and fuller the longer it steeps, not bitter the way black tea does.
For a 2-quart pitcher:
- Put 8 tea bags in the infuser or a heatproof jug. That's about 2.5 grams a bag with the Cederberg box, close to WebMD's 2 grams for every 8 ounces of the finished drink.
- Pour in 4 cups of boiling water and steep for 10 minutes. Longer is fine.
- Take out the bags, and stir in honey now if you want it sweet, while it's hot enough to dissolve.
- Fill the pitcher to the top with ice and stir. Keep it in the fridge.
A strip of orange peel, a few slices of fresh ginger or a sprig of mint in the hot step gives you a different pitcher each week. A splash of milk works too, hot or cold.
The Takeya does both steps in one jug: the infuser holds the bags while the boiling water goes in, and the Tritan body takes the ice right after. The 2-quart size matches the recipe above.
What you need
For a pitcher of iced rooibos
- Numi Organic Rooibos the first box, to find out if you like it cold$6.03
- Cederberg Tea Company Red Rooibos a hundred bags, for a pitcher every week$19.49
- Takeya Flash Chill Iced Tea Maker the jug that brews hot and chills on ice$32.99
If you drink it daily, the Cederberg box brings a pitcher down to about $1.50. Rooibos also turns up in the caffeine-free tulsi chai, if you'd like it with spice.
Common questions
Is it good to drink rooibos tea every day?
For most adults, yes. In the 2011 trial, adults at risk of heart disease drank six cups a day for six weeks, and their cholesterol numbers improved. Plain rooibos adds no caffeine and almost no calories. If you have liver problems, or you're pregnant, talk to your doctor before drinking it daily.
Does rooibos tea burn belly fat?
No study shows that in people. What it can do is replace drinks that add calories: a glass of unsweetened iced rooibos has close to none, where a sweet bottled iced tea or a soda brings its sugar with it.
Which is healthier, rooibos or green tea?
Green tea has far more research behind it. Rooibos has no caffeine and fewer tannins, so it's the better pick in the evening or if caffeine bothers you. Both are fine choices plain, without sugar.
Is rooibos better than black tea for iced tea?
For a pitcher, often yes. It doesn't turn bitter when you steep it long, it's naturally a little sweet so it needs less sugar, and it has no caffeine. Black tea is brisker and has caffeine; rooibos won't keep you up.
Does iced rooibos have the same benefits as hot?
Yes. Chilling it doesn't change what's in the tea. Only what you add changes it: sugar and honey bring calories.
