Why South Africans love their Rooibos Chai?

While Anton and I lived in Nepal, we fell in love with very sweet and spicy masala chai tea. Chai means tea in Hindi, and many other languages, and masala refers to the mix of many spices like ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, black pepper and cloves. Star anise, coriander seeds and peppercorns are other well-liked options.

Masala kept me warm at the office where I worked during freezing winter months in Kathmandu. I enjoyed many cups of chai at teahouses while hiking the Himalayas. I fondly remember our guesthouse host Raja in Gulmarg, Kashmir, who boiled Kashmiri Kahwa, a traditional Kashmiri tea flavored with cardamom and infused with cloves, cinnamon, and saffron, all day long in his samovar.

Many South Africans have their roots in South Asia. Traders from India may have been active on the eastern coast of South Africa for centuries, including before the Dutch settlement of the Cape Colony in 1652. The modern South African Indian community is largely descended from Indians who arrived in South Africa from 1860 onwards.

Curried dishes are popular in South Africa among people of all ethnic origins. And the same wonderful spices used in Indian dishes made their way to a cup or pot of Rooibos - and Rooibos Chai was born. I guess the name should be Rooibos Masala Chai, but for convenience, Rooibos Chai is much easier. 

Enjoy the spicy warmth of Sunbird Superior Rooibos Chai tea any time of day or night for an enchanting and intriguingly delicious cup of tea.