How to brew rooibos and hibiscus

How nice to sit in the evening with a cup of strong tea or flavored coffe . But over time, many note that portions of a familiar traditional drink there is not the usual consequences.For example, more recently, sweetly slept, even after a person of strong coffee in bed tossing and turning half the night without sleep, and the amateurs of strong black tea an unpleasant sensation in the stomach. What can we say about people with problems of pressure? Only one way out: to look for alternative beverages, which would be devoid of drawbacks coffee and tea. And they can take place quite dark horses of our tea market: Rooibos and Hibiscus. About them now and tell MirSovetov.

Rooibos - a guest from South Africa

Once is not called rooibos! You can hear names such as rooibos, rotbush, rooibos, redbush,

Bushman tea.... But the most correct, it will probably be the name of rooibos or rooibos, this is exactly how it sounds in the name of the drink afrikanos, one of the official languages ​​of South Africa. If you give a literal translation of the word rooibos, you get a "red bush." ​​red bush itself is a highly branched shrub with smooth central stem with reddish bark. Thin branches covered with leaves, more like a needle, why the bush is bristling like a porcupine. And if you try to classify this plant, any nerd alive report that Aspalathus linearis (sounds so Latin name of the plant) belongs to the legume family, a group of acacia. The very low shrub reaches a height of only five feet. But he has a very very unusual feature: it only grows in the mountains Sedarberg (Cedar Mountains) in South Africa. All attempts to cultivate this plant in Australia or other places with suitable climate failed. Stubborn rooibos from the country does not intend to move, and now the whole area Sedarberg planted these bushes.

Preserved no direct evidence as to who first, and how long ago figured brew the bark and leaves of rooibos, but scientists celebrate the opening of rooibos attributed to local residents, the Khoikhoi tribe. It is up to them Europeans learned about the drink in the 18th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, a Benjamin Ginsburg, a former citizen of the Russian Empire Benjamin Ginsburg, began to spread around the world drink. In our latitudes rooibos actively spread about ten years ago, and his fame came in a roundabout way, through Germany, where he called on the German style "rotbush." The combination of the name and its German equivalent to the amount and gave the already familiar "rooibos".

For brewing a beverage from plants pruned shoots, cut them into small pieces without removing the leaves and left to ferment. And just as the leaves of the tea bush can get the black and green teas, South African processing plant will give the green or red rooibos. After the end of the fermentation process finally dried tea leaves and pasteurized.

Buying rooibos, MirSovetov recommend that you evaluate the quality of his preparation: it should be very light and crumbly, have a clean, intense and uniform color. If you come across a red Rooibos leaves are yellowish - it says improperly stored. But the pieces of the barrel, similar to the smooth wood chips-or cut hay, is not only allowed, but encouraged.

Properties of rooibos

Khoikhoi tribe, the oldest consumer rooibos, a plant used not only for brewing a beverage but also

as an external agent, and even paint. Go to such extremes, of course, is not necessary, but that's about the main advantages of this tea should know. 
actual for hypertensive patients is that Rooibos is completely devoid of caffeine, and therefore does not raise blood pressure.Tannin in the tea also contains a very small amount, which means that rooibos can safely drink, even people who are predisposed to diseases of the kidney. No members of the drink caffeine and tannin can enter it in the children's diet, and give this drink you can even babies as a remedy for stomach pains and disorders in sleep mode. Of course, for this purpose should be weakly brewed rooibos, a large amount of water. 
Rooibos is an excellent source of iron, copper and vitamin C. The latter two provide the most effective assimilation of iron contained in the products that people consume. For this reason, it is recommended rooibos who switched to a vegetarian diet(where the food is poor in iron), as well as people suffering from anemia. Although scientists have warned that no matter how rich in iron rooibos, fully rely on it should not be, or it will have to drink liters. 
Apart from the above in the rooibos contains vitamins such as E, F, A, as well as calcium and zinc. A contained in the plant tetracycline (albeit in small quantities) allows you to make compresses of strong brewed beverage. Extracts from the same rooibos are actively used in the manufacture of therapeutic agents for eczema and other skin problems.

How to brew rooibos

The secret to the right of rooibos tea leaves cause a storm of applause from even the most unpretentious, overly busy and budget conscious people. 
So, fall asleep in a porcelain (or glass) of rooibos tea brew as much as usual and tea. Fill with boiling water very literally just the boiled, cover with lid and leave for 5 minutes. All your rooibos ready. Moreover, it does not lose its flavor and beneficial properties not cooled down, or the next day. Can be poured boiling water over the tea leaves again and again. MirSovetov only emphasize that rooibos tea leaves can not use pottery asthe pores of the clay will absorb and take his delicate flavor.

To use rooibos as a medicament, especially outer, it should boil few minutes.

If, having tried rooibos, you found it tastes too soft and thin, then you should try one more tea, which certainly has much more vivid flavor - Hibiscus tea.

Sudanese rose in your cup

Hibiscus tea is probably the most outstanding representative is not tea called tea. He and taste

more like a fruit drink and therefore use it constantly as a tea may be a few. However, this bright red drink with a tart floral and fruity taste and aroma, bought a lot of fans. So, what is the hibiscus tea? It is brewed cup of hibiscus flowers, also known as the Sudanese rose.

Hibiscus - a tall shrub of the mallow family, which grows in tropical climates. In addition, he is well cultivated in indoor horticulture. Hibiscus is particularly revered by Muslims as it is believed that the five petals symbolize the five precepts of Islam. Check out this flower in many countries, Malaysia and hibiscus elevated to the rank of national flower.

Like many other plants, hibiscus tea is not only used as a raw material for a drink. In the countries where it grows in abundance hibiscus, it is literally eating whole, using as salad greens or a side dish to meat.

How useful Hibiscus

If hibiscus can be called the national flower of Malaysia, the hibiscus tea can safely be ranked as the national drink of Egypt. In the land of pyramids and pharaohs drink it all, from small to large, not only in hot, but cold. It is believed that such an abundant use of hibiscus makes a man healthy, without any medication. course, European medicine is very skeptical of these claims, but the usefulness of the drink and its unique properties confirms. Hibiscus is the main feature is that it is perfectly suitable for both high blood pressure and gipotonikam. How can this be? The fact is, the use of a hot beverage is the rise of pressure, and in the cold - the substances that make up the present, have the opposite effect on blood vessels, lowering blood pressure. During hot weather hibiscus tea has a refreshing effect, even if you drink it hot, and all thanks to the high content of citric acid in the hibiscus. It also provides anti-influenza effect of tea is good, because citric acid is able to destroy some types of disease-causing bacteria. Despite pronounced acid taste and astringency, this tea contains oxalic acid and, therefore, is shown even for people suffering from impaired kidney function . Hibiscus tea has a beneficial effect on the condition of the pancreas, as well as the genitourinary system of man. Another property that makes this drink a favorite not only caring for the health of the ladies, but men: Hibiscus tea relieves hangover worse than the famous pill "Alka-Seltzer." 

How to brew Roselle

Let's start with what is considered to be the best Hibiscus not crushed and pressed in the form of

petals, and without flavor. 
brewing in any case you can not use metal utensils, as interacting with the metal Roselle may lose not only a color but also useful properties. It is better to use soft or distilled water. We advise to remember one more important thing: it is necessary to put in boiling water Hibiscus, not fill with water.

Steamed hibiscus sepals also have a special flavor and is quite possible to eat as additional vitamin supplements.

These are the points on which all agree. But with further welding technology create some problems. 
Hibiscus can brew tea as usual. Pour boiling water into a cup, add 1-2 teaspoons of tea leaves, insisting always under cover of 5-10 minutes. It is believed that such a hibiscus tea is best seen its beneficial properties. 
But the true connoisseurs say that this method of welding Hibiscus wrong and does not disclose all of their hibiscus flavoring and aromatic qualities. And in order to fully experience the taste, hibiscus should be cooked. Like, just so prepare hibiscus tea in Egypt, and they really understand something in this sense. So, Hibiscus put into boiling water and cook over high heat for three minutes. After that, at the request of the beverage add sugar and drink hot or cold and strained. Which tea, rooibos or hibiscus, you will enjoy it more and how to best brew, you evaluate empirically. The main thing - to try these drinks make up their minds. And we wish you a pleasant tea and health!