Whatmakesrooibosexcitingisthatit’sanherbaltea,soithasaveryuniquesmellandtaste,inadditiontobeingcaffeine-free.
JerrodWeston,Papp’sTeaChiefExperienceOfficerZhangYipeng(right),founderofSmashACuprooibosteabrand,duringtheSouthAfricanWeekinBeijingLIUJIANGoodnewsforteaaficionados:itisnolongernecessarytoembarkonanepicjourneylikeChinesefamousancientexplorerZhengHetosavorthearomaofAfricanherbalteas.Thosewhosufferfromthebeverage’saddictioncannowenjoytheuniqueflavorofSouthAfricanrooibosintheverycenteroftheChinesecapital.
Inasmallandexquisitelydesignedcafé,hiddenamongtheXiang’erHutonginBeijing,abaristacaneaseyourcravingwithacupofhigh-qualityrooibos.He’saddedatouchoforiginalitythataddstotheexperience.Alocalfavoriteisthechappuccino,aclevertwistontheclassiccappuccino,withrooibosleavesinplaceofcoffeebeans.
“Whenwepromoterooibos,weliketotellourcustomersthatrooibosisnotreallytea.Weemphasizeitsdecaffeinatedproperty,andsoweareabletosellittopeoplewholiketheatmosphereofcafés,butaretoosensitivetocaffeine,”saysthepropagatorofthisuniquehotbeverageinChina,ZhangYipeng.
ComingfromeastChina’sShandongProvince,Zhang,32,livedandstudiedinCapeTown,SouthAfrica,formanyyears.AfterreturningtoChinain2013,shecreatedtheSmashACupbrandwithtwofriendstointroducethishealthyandcaffeine-freebeveragetoChineseteadrinkers.
ZhangisonlybutoneofthemanyentrepreneursthathavemadeittheirmissiontobringthisuniqueSouthAfricanbeveragetoChinaoverthelastfewyears.Introducingaforeignteaintothewellestablished,age-oldChineseteamarketisamajorchallengethattheseentrepreneursintendtoaddresswithingenuityandinnovation.
OutofCapeTown
Rooibos-whichmeans“redbush”inAfrikaans-isafragrant,floralandsweetherb.TheearliestuseofrooiboscanbetracedbacktothefirstinhabitantsoftheCederbergMountainsintheWesternCapeProvince,whofavoreditforitsbeneficialandversatilemedicinalproperties.
Althoughitiscommonlyknownasateawithadistinctmahoganyredcolor,therooibosisactuallyanherb.ItwasduringherstayinCapeTownthatZhangknewaboutthisherb,anddecidedtobringitbacktoChina.Afterseeingdemandgrowsfortheproduct,shedecidedtoopenherownshop,BigSmallCoffee,inBeijing’sXiang’erHutong.Shenowsuppliesmorethan300coffeeshopsaroundChinawithrooibosproducts.
AccordingtoZhang,amassivesellingpointinfavorofrooibosisitshealthbenefits.Duetoitshighcontentinquercetin,rooibosteahasbeenlinkedtoanti-allergenic,anti-inflammatoryandanti-viralproperties,accordingtoastudyfromtheEuropeanJournalofPharmacologyin2008.Drinkingrooibosonaregularbasiscanalsohelpeasehypertensionandinflammations.
Taste-wise,rooibosisasurpriseforChinesecustomers,saidZhang.Althoughsomecustomersmayfeelthatthedrinklacks“strength”-whichisduetothefactthatitstannincontentismuchlowerthanChinesegreenteas-othersareseducedbyitssoftness.
“Ourfemaleclients,especially,appreciaterooibosverymuch,becausetheylikeitssweet,silky,softtaste,”ZhangtoldChinAfrica.
Newcoolvibe
ThecomingchallengeforrooiboswillbetoexpanditsmarketplaceinChina,transitioningfromitsactualnestedmarkettowidespreadpopularity.Forthis,popularizingrooibosamongyounghineseconsumerswillbecritical.
Papp’sTea,apremiumteabrandcreatedin2015byAmericanMartinPapp,isayoungstartupthatseekstomaketeaacoolandfashionableproduct.Rooiboshasbecomeaspecialassetforthecompany,because-paradoxically-itisnottea,andthereforeisagreatproducttointroducetopeoplewhomayhavelittleenthusiasmfordrinkingtea.“Whatmakesrooibosexcitingisthatit’sanherbaltea,soithasaveryuniquesmellandtaste,inadditiontobeingcaffeine-free,”JerrodWeston,Papp’sTeaChiefExperienceOfficer,toldChinAfrica.“Rooibosisintriguing,it’ssomethingdifferent,andit’soneofoursignatureteas,soitdoesmakeusspecial.”
IntheircolorfulSanlitunteashop,attheheartofBeijing’sshoppingarea,rooibosrubsshoulderswiththegreatChineseteas-Pu’er,LongjingandOolong-inadditiontootherinternationalbignames.
Anotherassetofrooibosisitsversatility,asitmixeswellwithotherproducts.RooiboshasbecomeacentralingredientofPapp’sTea’smostpopularteablends,suchastheChillOutTea,which,asitsnameindicates,reliesonrooibos’relaxingproperties.
“Theseisreallynoexcusetonotdrinkit,it’sjustafantasticbeveragethathasnosideeffects;it’sjusttasty!”concludesWeston.
Somewaytogo
However,thegreatestdifficultiesZhang,WestonandotherrooibossellersinChinamustfacearenotinChina,butattheotherendoftheirsupplychain-inSouthAfrica.
“Thebiggestchallengewefaceisnotincustomeracceptance,butinensuringproductsupplyfromSouthAfrica.Whiletheglobaldemandforrooibosteaisgrowing,includinginChina,wearesometimesconcernedthatwewillnotbeabletobuythequalityproductsweneedatareasonableprice,”saidZhang.
RooibosdoesnotgrowoutsideofSouthAfrica’sCaperegion,whichgivesthecountryadefactomonopolyonthemarketworldwide.
Accordingtoa2013reportbytheSouthAfricanDepartmentofAgriculture,ForestryandFisheries,SouthAfricaproducesaround12,000tonsofrooibosperyear,ofwhichabouthalfisexportedtomorethan30countries.
FiguresreleasedbytheSouthAfricanRooibosCouncil(SARC)in2015saidthemainexportmarketswereGermany,theNetherlandsandJapan.Chinesemainlandaccountedforlessthan2percentofglobalrooibossales,withatotalof91tonsimported,whichputsthecountryin10thplaceonthelistofexportdestinations.
ButdespitethecurrentsmallshareofChina’smarket,localproducershavegreatambitionsforthefuture.
Rooiboscurrentlyrepresents10percentoftheworldmarketforherbalteas,butthisisexpectedtogrowoncetheAsianmarketbecomesmorefamiliarwiththeproduct.SuzanneHerbstoftheSARCsaidprospectsareparticularlybrightforgreen(unfermented)rooibosleaves,whichareanaturalchoiceforAsianconsumerswithatraditionalaffinityforgreentea.
HerbstsaidtheSARCisalsomakingeffortstoincreasethevisibilityofrooibosteainChinaandisactivelycollaboratingwiththeSouthAfricanEmbassyinBeijinginthisarea.
DuringtheSouthAfricanWeekinChinaheldinBeijingonSeptember9-13,2016,peopleinattendancewereabletoenjoyavarietyofrooibosteaprovidedbytheSARC.Rooibosteasampleswerealsodistributedthroughthegiftbagsgivenbytheembassy.
ZhangandherteamjoinedinthefunattheSouthAfricanWineTastingandProductExhibition,alsopartoftheSouthAfricanWeek.Behindherstylishstand,onecouldseeherintroducingnewflavorsandnewproducts-andbringingalittlepieceofSouthAfrica’ssunnyCaperegion-toanewgenerationofteadrinkersinChina.
Commentsto
Papp’sTeaisoneofthecompaniesprovidingsingleoriginrooibosteainBeijingPapp’sTea