Rooibos: A South African twist on traditional Christmas flavours

AS THE FESTIVE season unfolds in South Africa, Rooibos is taking centre stage in kitchens across the country. This versatile ingredient is no longer just a comforting cuppa; it's now a star player in summer dishes, from chilled drinks to flavour-packed starters, mains, and desserts.

Award-winning cookbook author Heleen Meyer has been experimenting with Rooibos for years, and she's in love with its adaptability. "Rooibos has a soft, layered flavour that blends easily with other ingredients," she says. "It's gentle enough not to dominate a dish, but adds depth, colour, and a familiar aroma."

Rooibos pairs beautifully with fruit, herbs, and spices, making it a natural fit for festive-season dishes. Meyer suggests using it in marinades, broths, glazes, and roasted dishes, or as a cooking liquid to add aroma and complexity to roasted fruit, glazes, or syrups.

"There's something lovely about taking a familiar local ingredient and giving it a new role in the kitchen," Meyer says. She encourages home cooks to experiment with Rooibos, substituting part of the liquid in a recipe with this versatile ingredient.

Cooking with Rooibos doesn’t require special equipment or advanced techniques – just a willingness to experiment with an ingredient many of us already enjoy daily. Whether used in a syrup, a roasting mixture or a dessert base, Rooibos offers subtlety rather than intensity, and its familiarity makes it easy to integrate into a variety of dishes. As Meyer puts it, “Rooibos is woven into our daily lives, so bringing it into our cooking is simply the next, most natural step.”

And for home cooks eager to add a healthy and fresh yet deeply local touch to their festive spread, it may just be time to let Rooibos do more than fill a cup – let it inspire the whole meal.

The following recipes offer approachable ways to use Rooibos in summer dishes – from refreshing drinks to a relaxed starter and a light dessert. Each one uses Rooibos to support and complement the other flavours.

Rooibos Red Mocktail

(Recipe created by Heleen Meyer)

A homemade Rooibos syrup forms the base of this refreshing drink. The combination of Rooibos, cinnamon and ginger ale creates a subtly spiced, cooling summer mocktail. It’s easy to prepare the syrup in advance and use it as needed – either as a drink base or even as a drizzle over yoghurt, fruit or ice cream.

“The combination of Rooibos, cinnamon and ginger ale is really amazing and so refreshing,” says Meyer. “Have some of this homemade Rooibos cordial in the fridge to quickly whip up a delicious summer sipper.”

Makes about 250 ml syrup, enough for about 8–10 glasses

• 3 plain Rooibos bags
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 200 ml white sugar
• 200 ml water
• crushed ice or small ice cubes
• ginger ale or soda water, chilled
• seasonal fruit like pomegranate arils, strawberries and cherries
• fresh mint leaves for garnish

Place the Rooibos bags, cinnamon, sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat over a medium temperature. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and the Rooibos has infused. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until it starts to thicken and form a syrup.

1. Remove the bags and allow the syrup to cool down completely.
2. Add spoonfuls of ice into glasses and pour the syrup over (use 30 ml if using ginger ale, or 45 ml with soda water). Top with ginger ale or soda water. Serve with seasonal fruit of your choice and garnish with mint leaves. Refrigerate any remaining syrup in a sterilised glass jar.

 Tips:

1. This Rooibos syrup will be delicious as a cordial in a gin and tonic.
2. Use flavoured Rooibos bags if preferred, like berry, lemon, floral, citrus, buchu or vanilla for a different flavour.
3. This syrup will be delicious, drizzled over plain yoghurt for breakfast, over ice cream or even on a pavlova with fruit as a dessert.

Rooibos Roasted Grapes on Baked Camembert

(Recipe created by Heleen Meyer)

This dish highlights how well Rooibos works with fruit. The tisane deepens the flavour of the grapes as they roast, creating a glossy, aromatic topping for warm camembert. It’s simple to assemble and suits relaxed, communal summer meals – from cheese platters to sharing boards.

Serves 4–6 

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) honey
• 60 ml (¼ cup) strong plain Rooibos (use 2 Rooibos bags)
• 6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
• black pepper to taste
• 500 ml (2 cups) red seedless grapes, some halved, and the rest kept whole
• 1 x large (250 g) Camembert cheese
• fresh thyme leaves for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C and line a baking tray with baking paper or use a shallow oven dish.
2. Mix oil, honey, Rooibos and thyme together in a bowl and season with pepper. Toss grapes in the Rooibos mixture. Spoon in a single layer onto the tray or into the dish.
3. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until the skins of the grapes just start to bubble. Remove from the oven and allow grapes to cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, line another small baking tray or shallow oven dish with baking paper. Place cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese starts to melt on the inside and lightly puffs up.
5. Carefully remove the camembert from the tray and place it on a serving platter. Spoon roasted grapes and any pan juices over the cheese. Garnish with thyme leaves. Serve as a delicious spread on toasted bruschetta slices, chunky fresh bread, melba toast or savoury biscuits.

Summer Rooibos Panna Cotta

(Recipe created by Heleen Meyer)

For dessert, Rooibos brings a gentle aromatic note to this lighter-style panna cotta made with yoghurt or buttermilk. Served chilled with seasonal fruit, it’s a fitting finish to a warm evening and perfect for anyone curious to try Rooibos in sweet dishes for the first time.

Serves 4–6

• 30 ml (2 tbsp) water
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) gelatine powder
• 250 ml (1 cup) milk
• 4 plain Rooibos bags
• 125 ml (½ cup) fresh cream
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) honey
• ½ vanilla pod, split open and seeds scraped out or 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
• 175 ml double-cream plain yoghurt or buttermilk
• seasonal fruit like fresh nectarines or peaches, raspberries or blueberries for serving
• edible flowers for garnish

1. Place the water in a shallow bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over. Allow to sponge, but make sure there are no dry pieces.
2. Meanwhile, heat milk and Rooibos bags in a saucepan over a low heat for a few minutes until infused. Remove the bags and stir in the cream, honey and vanilla seeds and pod or essence. Stir until the honey has dissolved and heat to just below boiling point. Don’t allow the mixture to boil.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine until it dissolves completely. Allow the mixture to cool down slightly, until you can keep your finger in the liquid.
4. Stir the yoghurt or buttermilk into the Rooibos mixture and remove the vanilla pod. It may look as if the mixture wants to split, but continue stirring.
5. Pour into glasses. Cover and refrigerate for three to four hours or overnight until set.
6. Serve panna cotta with fresh fruit and edible flowers.