Posts Tagged ‘herbata rooibos’

Rooibos chai recipe

Chai or more precisely Masala chai is a very popular drink in South Asia and particularly in India. The main ingredients of chai are a very strong black tea, milk and various spices among which cardamom, cinnamon and ginger. The result is a very sweet drink <a style=’display:none;’ href=http://rooibos-benefits.com > Rooibos tea </a> full of spices that some regard almost as food.

Many of us might be put of by the high amount of caffeine of chai. Fortunately this is where Rooibus tea comes in.

Rooibos tea with is strong aroma can stand its ground to black tea and thus it can be used as a substitute in a variation on the chai recipe. This time we get a very similar strong beverage without the caffeine content.

Ingredients: ( 4 servings )

4 cups of water

1 cup of whole milk

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 slices of ginger

Rooibos gift set

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon of whole cloves

1/2 tablespoon of whole black peppercorn

2 tablespoons of rooibos leaves

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir ocasionally boiling for another 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Alternative: Mix together all the ingredients except the milk. Boil for 20 minutes. Store in fridge. Add hot milk before serving.

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Rooibos tea and pregnancy

The question frequently arises among pregnant woman. Is it ok to drink rooibos tea during pregnancy? Well first of all rooibos is technically not a tea, thus not derived from the tea plant camellia sinensis. Rooibos is in fact a legume from the aspalathus family.

As a consequence of this rooibos is naturally caffeine free and very low in tannins which brings many health related benefits to everybody drinking it. Especially pregnant women should keep an eye on their health and the health of their baby.

The strong and aromatic taste makes it a natural substitute for coffee especially in the time of pregnancy when caffeine intake should be limited or avoided completely.

The tannins present in large amounts in teas can cause a lower iron absorption in the blood stream. As anemia is quite frequent in pregnancy or breastfeeding the low tannins in rooibos can be quite beneficial to this cause. Some studies have shown that adding vitamin C to Rooibos tea can greatly increase the body’s capacity to absorb iron and antioxidants.

Aside from that Rooibos tea can have a major role in the life of a pregnant woman, easing many symptoms that come with particular state.

Rooibos can be beneficial in states of constipation, nausea or stomach cramps. Further it can improve liver function and help in states of anxiety and depression.

A word of caution however. In many cases Rooibos is mixed with other herbs and those herbs might cause some undesired effects during pregnancy.