ABSTRACT
Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a leguminous shrub native to the mountainous areas of the North Western Cape Province in South Africa. Rooibos belong to family Fabacae and it was first recorded by botanists in 1772 when they were introduced to the tea by the Khoi people [41]. The rooibos shrub can grow up to 2 meters in height with a long taproot that reaches
as deep as 2 m (about 6 feet). As a legume, rooibos contains nodules of nitrogen-fixing bacteria on its roots; this characteristic helps the plant survive in the poor Cedarberg soils and minimizes the need for fertilizing commercial crops with nitrogen [31]. In 1994, Benjamin Ginsberg became interested in rooibos and realized its marketing potentials and profitability [42]. Although, rooibos is indigenous to south Africa, yet it is now been exported to and consumed in countries worldwide, including Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, England, Malaysia, South Korea, Poland, China, and the United States [41]. The major international market for rooibos is Germany (53%), followed by the Netherlands (11%), United Kingdom (7%), Japan (6%) and the USA (5%) [21].
