If, up until now you thought tisanes were for a cosy-down under the duvet or a TV day on the sofa, well think again! Today we would like to tell you about the little known facet of herbal teas. The side which will give you the get up and go to head into these hot summer days!

These tisanes can be drunk at any time of day, morning, evening or during meals, they can be refreshing or invigorating and this is determined by the ingredients, vitamins and mineral salts. They can be drunk hot, cold, or iced and we refer in particular to Rooibos, Mate and Verbena.

ROOIBOS

Rooibos is a broom-like member of the Fabaceae family of plants growing in South Africa's Fynbos. The generic name comes from the plant Calicotome villosa, aspalathos in Greek, which has very similar growth and flowers to the rooibos plant. It is only produced in the mountainous region of Cederberg, 200km north of Cape Town.

It is also known as red tea or more often redbush, as a matter of fact the word rooibos in Afrikaans means “ red bush”. It is a caffeine-free tea which is why it is often seen as a desirable evening drink. It has a slightly sweetish flavour which distinguishes it from our black teas. In South Africa it is drunk for its refreshing and thirst quenching properties but also because it is packed full of antioxidants. If it’s good for them it’s good for us! Why not use it to challenge our hot Italian summers. Following are two of our Babingtons tisanes based on Rooibos.

AFRICAN NIGHTS

This is a sweet and fruity tisane and one of our favourite at Babingtons. Our ingredients are aromatics, blueberry petals and rooibos. It is great to drink any time of day hot or cold and even children like it!

ROOIBOS TISANE

In its pure form Rooibos is packed full of vitamins, mineral salts and proteins, it’s a real ‘get up and go’ drink! And it’s great for the grown-ups and the little ones at any time of day.

MATE

Mate, also known as yerva mate and chimarrão or yerba mate and cimarrón is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink, and is extremely popular in that part of the world. The colonisation of these lands meant that we were given access to this herb. However the Jesuits can take most of the glory for giving us this wonderful drink. In contrast to rooibos tea Mate is naturally infused with caffeine making it a very invigorating drink favoured by athletes. Here we have two of Yerba Mate based Babingtons tisanes.

MATE TISANE

The top South American tisane bar none! It is an ideal replacement for coffee or black tea in the mornings to set you up for your long day at the office or to brave these sultry summer days. It’s main ingredient, obviously is the herb Mate or Yerba mate in Spanish.

INVIGORATING HERBAL TEA

The play on words is in the name. Invigorating Tisane is a hot, spicy and revitalising drink. We have used ginger, Yerba mate, cinnamon, ginseng and ginkgo Bilbao. But just to make sure this is explosive enough we have added a touch of chilli pepper!

VERBENA

Verbena is a genus in the family verbenaceae, it contains about 250 species of annual or perennial-herbaceous semi- woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas and Asia. Lemon verbena is a widespread plant of this verbanaceae species and essential oils are extracted from its leaves. This oil has an extraordinarily strong scent of lemon and is often used as a condiment in various recipes. We recommend it on fish, chicken, vegetables and salads but most especially you must try it infused.

LEMON VERBENA TISANE

Lemon Verbena is well know for its calming and refreshing properties and is well loved by adults and children of all ages. To sip a lemon verbena definitely adds the feel good factor to the end of your working day. It is ideal after a meal or in the evenings, also delicious iced!

CHIARA’S Tips

To prepare the very best of iced tisanes I recommend you leave it to infuse from cold. Using 10g to 1lt of water (at room temperature) let the tisane infuse for 4 – 5 hours and hey presto!

African Nights Herbal Tea

Rooibos is a very healthy South African herbal tea, with a sweet aftertaste. That’s why we used it as a base to prepare a sweet, fruity blend which is one of Babingtons best sellers!