Smells of Rats

     That's how Mma Makutsi described bush tea in the third book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.  I just finished Book #6.  It's high time I tried some bush tea.  But where do you get the stuff?  It's not on the shelf at Shop Rite.
     According to what I read online, bush tea, red tea, or rooibos tea is full of antioxidants and is caffeine free.  The tea is brewed from the oxidized leaves and stems of the rooibos shrub.  This is a broom-like plant that reminds me of the scotch broom plants you can buy at Lowe's.  Once red tea was popular only in southern Africa.  Now it has caught on around the world.  In fact, the best quality tea is exported, leaving the lesser blends for the locals.  The taste of bush tea is described as nutty, fruity, even citrusy.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos

Rooibos plants

 

Red Tea

     I decided to check with my favorite online tea merchant, Mighty Leaf Tea Company.  They sell pure, organic rooibos tea, so I placed my order.  http://www.mightyleaf.com/index.cfm
     I approached my pouch of tea like a CSI.  It was reddish brown.  I inhaled deeply.  It smelled like the loose tobacco my grandfather used to roll his own cigarettes.  I didn't detect the odor of rodents.  The directions specified one rounded teaspoon of loose tea per 12 ounces of boiled water.  I threw the tea in a teapot and poured in the hot water.  After five minutes, I poured the red liquid through a strainer and into a mug.  I sipped.  It had a nice, smooth, mild taste.  It tasted like unsweetened tea.  I added some honey and enjoyed this new tea experience.
     For just a moment I felt like a No. 1 Lady Detective taking a break from sleuthing.  I did solve a mystery of sorts - the great bush tea mystery.  Now I know how it looks, smells, and tastes. There's no mystery though when it comes to the power of reading.  Books open up whole new worlds.  They expand your horizons until you can see all the way to Africa.