I'm asking this question from a health perspective, as I started
drinking rooibos primarily for it's health benefits. The questions is
how long should I steep it, I've read anywhere from as little as 5
minutes to as long as 15 minutes to get all of the health benefits.
Also I know you can reuse rooibos several times, but don't use loose
most of the benefits upon repeated steeping? Anyone's input would be
apreciated!

thanks

TheMadHacker > wrote in
:

> I'm asking this question from a health perspective, as I started
> drinking rooibos primarily for it's health benefits. The questions is
> how long should I steep it, I've read anywhere from as little as 5
> minutes to as long as 15 minutes to get all of the health benefits.
> Also I know you can reuse rooibos several times, but don't use loose
> most of the benefits upon repeated steeping? Anyone's input would be
> apreciated!

I don't know a lot about it, and I've seen various suggestions as well, but
so far it seems to me that rooibos does well with fully-boiling water,
should be steeped at least as long as, say, a black tea (3-5 minutes), and
can go quite a bit longer without getting bitter (unlike that black tea).
I would think that five to seven minutes would deliver plenty of whatever
health benefits rooibos has to offer. If one is determined to get every
last bit of goodness out of the plant, that's fine, but I don't know that
it's a better move than just steeping a fresh pot or mug every time.
Perhaps there's some extra-special nutrient in rooibos that doesn't steep
out until the bitter end, but more likely resteeping is just an exercise in
diminishing returns.

--
fD