Rooibos Tea substitute

Best substitute

Honeybush

Use the same amount as the rooibos tea you are replacing

Best for any rooibos recipe at all

Close match

Rooibos is usually doing three jobs at once: red-brown colour, a woody-sweet vanilla flavour, and being caffeine-free and impossible to make bitter. Honeybush is the closest swap at 1:1 and is a touch sweeter and more honeyed. If caffeine is not the issue, a plain black tea at 1:1 matches the colour and body but is far more tannic, so steep it half as long. For a caffeine-free red cup, dried hibiscus gives the colour but adds sharp cranberry-like acidity, while roasted barley tea gives the toasty depth without the red. In baking or a rooibos latte, brewed black tea or a spoonful of grain coffee powder will pass.

Other rooibos tea substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Black tea (Ceylon, Assam or a plain teabag)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount steeped 2 minutes instead of 5
The obvious cupboard substitute if the reason for the rooibos was colour and body rather than avoiding caffeine.
What changes
Best for
colour in cakes, jellies and iced drinks, milk tea and lattes, brines and marinades, tea-based syrups
Very similar amber-brown colour and a fuller body, but a completely different mouthfeel: tannic and astringent where rooibos was smooth and sweet, so a rooibos latte made with black tea tastes brisker and needs more milk. Crucially it is not caffeine-free, and it will turn bitter if you simmer it the way rooibos tolerates, so add it late in a recipe and pull it early.
3Roasted barley tea (mugicha) or a grain coffee powder
Different taste
Use the same amount for the tea, or 1 teaspoon powder per cup
Roasted grain brews, naturally caffeine-free, giving toasted depth and brown colour.
What changes
Best for
caffeine-free brewing for children and evenings, iced drinks, rooibos lattes and baked goods, long simmering
Toasty, nutty and cereal-like rather than woody-sweet, and browner rather than red, so a chilled jug of it tastes like toasted grain rather than fruit and vanilla. It is the better choice than hibiscus when the rooibos was going into something milky, because the roasted grain flavour sits comfortably with dairy and hibiscus curdles the impression of it.
4Dried hibiscus (sorrel or flor de jamaica)
Different taste
Use half as much
Dried hibiscus calyces, caffeine-free and dramatically red, which makes them the go-to if the colour is what matters.
What changes
Best for
iced tea and punches, jellies, sorbets and syrups, anything that needs to look deep red
Far more intense than rooibos in every direction: brilliant magenta-red rather than red-brown, and strongly tart, almost cranberry-like, where rooibos is sweet and mild. Use half the quantity and expect to add sugar. Do not use it in a milky drink, and do not use it where a delicate background tea note was wanted, because it will take over completely.
5Chamomile or another mild herbal infusion
Different taste
Use the same amount
Chamomile, linden or a supermarket herbal blend, if the point of the rooibos was simply a caffeine-free hot drink.
What changes
Best for
an evening cup, caffeine-free drinking generally
Right on caffeine, wrong on everything else. These infusions are pale gold and floral, so anything relying on rooibos for red-brown colour, such as an iced tea or a red espresso latte, will look and taste washed out. Perfectly reasonable in a mug, unhelpful in a recipe.
6Rooibos flavoured blends you already have (vanilla, chai or berry)
Close match
Use the same amount
A flavoured rooibos blend used where the recipe asked for plain rooibos.
What changes
Best for
drinking, spiced iced tea, baking, if the added flavour suits
The rooibos base is identical, so the only question is whether you want the extra flavouring. Vanilla rooibos is an improvement in a latte or a custard. Berry or citrus blends contain added acids that can curdle milk and can clash in a savoury braise, so taste the brew before committing it.

What is Rooibos Tea?

Rooibos Tea is Rooibos, also called red bush tea, is the chopped and oxidised needle-like leaf of a South African shrub rather than a true tea, brewing to a deep red-brown that is naturally caffeine-free, very low in tannin and slightly sweet.

Cooking tips

Rooibos is the most forgiving brew in the cupboard because it has almost no tannin. You can boil it, simmer it for twenty minutes or leave the bag in overnight and it will not go bitter, which makes it the right tea for slow-cooked syrups, braises and cold brew.
Because it cannot over-extract, strength is entirely about quantity. For a red espresso style latte or a rooibos cappuccino, use three teaspoons per cup, not one, or the milk will bury it.
It is genuinely useful as a caffeine-free colour source. A cup of strong rooibos in place of water in a fruitcake, a poaching liquid for pears or an iced tea concentrate adds amber colour and a faint sweetness without any bitterness.
Green rooibos, the unoxidised version, tastes grassy and hay-like and brews pale yellow-green, so it is not interchangeable with the ordinary red kind if colour matters to the recipe.
In South African cooking rooibos often stands in for water in rusks, koeksisters and syrups, so a rooibos brew is a safe direct swap for water anywhere you want a little extra depth.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the rooibos out?

In a spiced blend or a braise where it was one background element, yes, and you will lose a little colour and sweetness. If it is a rooibos latte, iced rooibos tea or a rooibos-infused dessert, it is the main flavour and you need a stand-in, ideally honeybush.

Is rooibos actually tea?

No. It comes from Aspalathus linearis, a legume shrub from the Western Cape, not from the tea plant, which is why it is naturally caffeine-free and low in tannin. Red bush tea, rooibosch and red tea all mean the same thing, though red tea sometimes confusingly refers to Chinese black tea.

What is the best caffeine-free substitute for rooibos?

Honeybush first, then roasted barley tea if you want the toasty brown character, then hibiscus if you specifically need a red drink and do not mind tartness. Chamomile and mint are caffeine-free but look and taste nothing like it.

Can I use black tea instead of rooibos for my baby or for a decaffeinated diet?

No, if avoiding caffeine is the reason. Black tea contains caffeine and also enough tannin to affect how iron is absorbed. Stay with honeybush, roasted barley tea or a herbal infusion, and for anything concerning infants or medical restrictions ask a paediatrician or doctor rather than relying on a recipe site.

Does rooibos work in milk tea and lattes?

Very well, and better than most true teas, because there is no tannin to clash with the dairy. Brew it triple strength, then use it exactly as you would espresso in a latte. Honeybush and vanilla rooibos are both excellent in the same role.

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Rooibos Tea substitute

Other rooibos tea substitutes

2Black tea (Ceylon, Assam or a plain teabag)

3Roasted barley tea (mugicha) or a grain coffee powder

4Dried hibiscus (sorrel or flor de jamaica)

5Chamomile or another mild herbal infusion

6Rooibos flavoured blends you already have (vanilla, chai or berry)