Red Espresso – Rooibos Tea Espresso

This post is written upon a package of free sample from Red Espresso. We are not paid for this post.

This came in the mail and oh yeah, its a sample for us courtesy of Red Espresso. Please note we are not paid for this blog post if that matters to any of you.

Actually there is a specific way to write the name of this unique product. It is not Red Espresso …

… it is red espresso. That is what I noticed … they made the word “red” red all the time and spelt them all in lowercases. Weird. But smart. That’s branding at its finest if you ask me.

red espresso is the world’s first espresso made of tea. It is made with Rooibos tea which is gaining popularity around the world and we had read about them before. So when red espresso asked if we would like a sample, we said sure. We were curious and wanted to see for ourselves what the fuss is all about.

What we found out was that Rooibos has all the versatility of espresso coffee. With this you could make latte, cappucino, americano, white mocha and even iced tea with apple juice. They even trademarked the red espresso names so that when you ask for these items below, it means Rooibos tea from red espresso:

• red latte
• red cappucino
• red canadiano (he he he … not Americano!)
• red symphony (is actually white mocha)
• fresh red (iced tea with apple juice)
• iced red (iced tea)

Before I continue, I want to point out that these pictures here are all mine. How did you like it? It is not exactly pro level but I am pretty pleased how they all came out.

Anyway, you can prepare a red espresso in a few ways. You could use an espresso machine, a stovetop espresso maker, a french press or even a drip coffee maker.

I don’t have an espresso machine at home. I had always wanted to buy one but Suanne kiboshed that idea because she said does not have anymore space in her kitchen. So we opted for the next best way to make this. We bought ourselves a stovetop espresso maker (above).

So I did a bit of research. Apparently the Rolls Royce of stovetop espresso makers are made by Bialetti. But Bialetti are so expensive with some fancy models costing over $100.

I found the basic one above in HomeSense. It is less than $10. Cheap but it works the same. He he he … I hope this is safe! OK we admit. We are noobs when it comes to this thingy. So, please don’t roll your eyes as I attempt to explain the basics OK?

With the stovetop espresso maker, you basically prepare your brew on top of your stove burner. The pressure from the boiling water will apply sufficient pressure to express a thick concentrated coffee from the beans. There are three sections: on the left is the boiler where the water goes. The middle part is the metal filter for the coffee (or in this case the red espresso). And on the right is the chamber where the espresso is collected.

It is a simple device. It is also the way the Italians make their espresso as I was told.

The Rooibos tea looks kind of like … saw dust if you ask me. It is only harvested from the highest plateaus of Cedarberg Mountains in South Africa. As a matter of fact, the South African government is in the process of legalizing the name Rooibos like names such as Kobe Beef, and Champagne.

Rooibos is naturally sweet and so no sweetener is necessary. It is gaining popularity because of the following reasons:

• It is healthy and contains a high level of antioxidants
• It is caffeine-free, so you can drink this at night and still be able to sleep.
• It is natural and contains no colourants, preservative or additives.

There are a host of other benefits but I thought it would bore you. For me, the best part is that it is caffeine-free and ….

… it actually tastes great. I felt it tastes like a cross between espresso coffee and tea. It is more like drinking espresso with a hint of tea. Looking at it you will only tell the difference by the redness of the brew. It is a worthy alternative to coffee.

If you are interested, you could get red espresso Rooibos Tea from the locations found on redespresso.com. Too bad they are not as widely available in Canada as I wished.

Suanne made the Amish Friendship Bread above to go with the Rooibos tea espresso. It was great especially eating it warm just out of the oven. She said she will share the recipe with you all later.

Anyway, if you are interested to know where you could find red espresso, here is a list of the locations in Metro Vancouver.

• Disclosures
• Food Review