Most of the tea is picked manually. The tea is then bruised and cut using tobacco cutting machines. At this stage, Rooibos is still green.
Fermentation is essential in order to enhance the flavor of the tea.
Rooibos is fermented in mounds and then spread out to dry in the sunlight. Fermentation turns the tea red. Rooibos nick name red bush does not apply to a live plant since it is green until it is fermented. In the final process Rooibos is sterilized by steam, dried in commercial dryers, sifted and packaged. Recipes South African fruit cooler 1 tsp.