I enjoyed rooibos lattes my entire stay in Cape Town. The rooibos “red bush” is a species of fynbos indigenous to the Cederberg mountains in the Northern Cape, and a shot of rooibos espresso with steamed milk and honey is simply divine.
Normally, I love a good London Fog. My nightly mug of Earl Grey just hits so much better when I make it with steamed milk instead of boiling water, and the same goes for rooibos, only I didn’t realize that until now. You can find a Red Latte in any café in the Mother City and when you order one, it’ll be served with a side of raw honey or, take it a step further and at select places like Valley Roast Coffee Co. you may be able to order a red sunrise—white hot chocolate and a rooibos espresso.
Now, I can usually find my favourite brand of rooibos at the South African imports store on Marine Drive in North Vancouver when I’m back at home, but highly concentrated rooibos espresso powder? Never heard of it before. So you can imagine I stocked up before I left Cape Town. But even after my own supply of rooibos espresso powder dwindled, I’m still making lattes. The wonderful thing about it is that it is naturally caffeine-free and it can steep and steep and steep without turning bitter. Heat your whole milk in a saucepan while stirring in a teaspoon full of honey. Just below a simmer, throw in two teabags of your favourite brand of rooibos—just be sure that it’s plain rooibos, no need to complicate things with additional, competing flavours—let simmer, et violà!