Easy DIY Vanilla Rooibos Tea Blend -

Step-to-step recipe to make a delicious homemade vanilla rooibos tea

If you want to make your own high-quality tea blend that you can drink in large quantities without feeling any guilt, this is the recipe for you.
This DIY vanilla rooibos tea recipe is easy to make and tastes wonderful!
Also, homemade tea blends are a great idea gift and this smooth tea blend is no exception.

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Table of Contents

Why you’ll love this herbal tea recipe

CAFFEINE-FREE – anyone can enjoy rooibos at any time of day because this herbal tea is caffeine-free.
SIMPLY DELICIOUS – the real vanilla provides this blend an elegant flavor as well as a delicate but amazing smell
VERY EASY TO MAKE – there is nothing you can do to make this blend wrong: it allows a wide range of variations based on personal preference.
However, to give you a specific idea of how to begin, we’ll go through the amounts that work best for me.

What you’ll need

Ingredients and equipment to make rooibos vanilla at home

There is not much you need for this DIY vanilla rooibos tea blend:

a knife
kitchen scissors (to cut the vanilla bean)
an airtight jar to gather the resulting blend

For the blend itself you just need:

Rooibos tea leaves
Vanilla bean
(Optional) Some dry fruits – my favorite for this blend is dried apple

Rooibos

The most common rooibos, also known as red rooibos, is made from oxidised (“fermented”) leaves of the native South African plant Aspalathus linearis.

There is also the variant green rooibos, that refers to rooibos when the leaves are unoxidised.

Green rooibos is more difficult to come by and in addition to that, I find red rooibos’ taste combines better with vanilla than green rooibos, which means you can use REGULAR ROOIBOS (if possible, organic rooibos) for this blend.

Real vanilla

“Fresh” vanilla has a much more subtle taste and smell than vanilla extract, so for people if you are only used to artificial vanilla flavor, it may be unfamiliar.

But my advice is to just give it a try: vanilla beans have a warming and charming scent that is difficult to replicate.

Optional: dry fruits

If you have some dried fruits in your pantry, chopping a couple of pieces small and adding them to the blend will offer a decent accent that will round the taste of your blend beautifully.

Dried apples (no need for them to be crunchy), raisins, apricot, prunes or dates are all fantastic additions that will work well with the vanilla flavor.

Just sure to take the pit (if the dried fruit you are using has one) before chopping them.

Q&As about homemade vanilla rooibos

How long does the shelf life of this homemade rooibos blend last?

When stored properly, this vanilla rooibos blend is good for 6-8 months if you only use rooibos and vanilla; when you add dried fruits, you may use up the blend in about 3-4 months.

What is the best way to best store this rooibos vanilla blend?

As with any other sort of tea, you should store this herbal in an airtight container, away from heat, light and moisture.
While I used a glass jar to make the pictures, I prefer to store tea in tea cans or paper canisters since they protect the tea from the light.
Only allow clean and dry utensils to come in contact with your tea.

Other ideas for using this tea blend

Put a teaspoon in a tea bag to make small homemade gifts
Use this vanilla rooibos loose leaf tea to make caffeine-free chai or pumpkin spice tea latte

5 from 4 votes

How to make your own vanilla rooibos tea blend

Homemade roibos vanilla from scratch

Print Recipe

Prep Time:5

Cook Time:0

Total Time:5

Equipment

1 knife
1 kitchen scissors
1 airtight container

Ingredients

10 Tbsp. rooibos tea (loose leaf tea) (40 gr.)
1 vanilla bean
5-10 gr. dry fruits like dried apples, raisins or dates (Optional)

Instructions

Put the rooibos tea in a airtight container
Cut a vanilla bean open: make a cut in the side and slice it lengthwise so you can open it
Scrap seeds carefully and add them to the tea leaves
Cut with a scissor the remaining bean into small pieces and add it to the rooibos blend.
Optionally, do the same with the dried fruits.
Mix thoughtfully and if possible, let sit for a couple of days before using the blend.

Notes

To prepare a cup, use a teaspoon per cup, pour boiling water into it and let steep for 10 minutes before removing tea.

This blend tastes great as rooibos tea latte, with some milk and homemade vanilla honey.

Nutrition

Calories: 1kcal

Course: Tea

Cuisine: Healthy

Keyword: caffeine free, hot drink, spices, tea, with milk

Servings: cups

Calories: 1kcal

How to prepare a cup of vanilla rooibos (video included)

Once you have your blend ready, making a delicious cup of vanilla rooibos is really easy:

Time needed: 10 minutes

Steps to make vanilla rooibos tea

Put herbal tea in a cup of tea pot
Use around a full teaspoon of rooibos tea per cup.
Steep
Pour fresh boiled hot water into the rooibos tea and let it steep for 10 minutes.
Remove tea
Since rooibos loose tea leaf has a needle-like form that may make a mess when using a tea strainer, some people find it more convenient to use paper tea bags to prepare it.
Enjoy warm or cold
Vanilla rooibos tastes great with some milk (although it’s also delicious as is).
This DIY Vanilla rooibos tea blend has a pleasant natural sweetness and since it’s low in tannins, it lacks any bitterness that some other teas may have.
However, to make your tea cup truly comforting and vanilla fragrant, I encourage you to add a little amount of homemade vanilla honey to sweeten it up.
It will take your vanilla tea blend to the next level!

Making your own tea blends is a fun way to get creative with ingredients you already have in the kitchen.
If you’ve never tried making your own teas before, this plain vanilla rooibos blend may be the best way to start.
The homemade version tastes less intense than extracts but it still has that delicious undertone of vanilla beans without any artificial ingredients.
Give it a try! You won’t want to buy premade vanilla rooibos once you get the hang of this one.

Easy DIY Vanilla Rooibos Tea Blend

Why you’ll love this herbal tea recipe