Honeybush
Honeybush is a caffeine-free South African tisane made from Cyclopia shrubs, named for the honey scent of its yellow flowers and the honeyed taste of its oxidized leaf.
Definition
Honeybush comes from shrubs of the genus Cyclopia, a group of about two dozen species native to the fynbos of South Africa's Western and Eastern Cape. Only a few are used commercially, chiefly Cyclopia intermedia, C. subternata, C. genistoides and C. maculata. Much of the supply still comes from wild harvesting in mountain areas, and cultivation is smaller than for rooibos. The name comes from the plant's yellow flowers, which smell of honey. Processing resembles rooibos: shoots are cut, the leaf and stems are moistened and oxidized, and the material turns from green to dark brown. Honeybush is oxidized at higher temperatures than rooibos, traditionally in heaps or bread ovens and now in heated tanks, before being sun-dried. An unoxidized green honeybush also exists. In the cup, honeybush is sweeter and lighter than rooibos, with notes of honey, dried apricot, stone fruit and baked bread, and less woody depth. It contains no caffeine and very little tannin. Its main polyphenol is mangiferin, a compound also found in mango.
In Depth
Brewing: 2-3 g per 250 ml at 100°C (212°F) for 5-7 minutes. Like rooibos, it forgives long steeps and gets fuller rather than bitter. Some people simmer it on the stove for 10-20 minutes to make a stronger concentrate that holds up to milk.
Telling it from rooibos: the dry honeybush leaf is coarser, with more visible stem pieces, and darker brown rather than red. The liquor is amber rather than deep red, and the aroma is closer to honey and fruit than to wood and vanilla.
Buying: honeybush costs more than rooibos because supply is smaller and more of it is wild-harvested. It is often blended with rooibos or flavored with fruit, so read the ingredient list if you want it plain.
See Also
- South African Herbal Teas
- Caffeine-Free Drinks