Short Answer: A red cappuccino is a classy and healthy alternative to coffee and decaf. It’s prepared with rooibos tea and crowned with warm foamy milk.
This beverage is great for those moments when you can’t have another cup of coffee but still want to enjoy a delectable warm milky drink.
It’s filled with antioxidants and has a rich, robust rooibos flavor that the entire family can enjoy at any time of day or night. This comforting and guilt-free beverage will undoubtedly leave you wanting more.
Come with me as we learn more about red cappuccino, its health benefits, and how to make one at home.
Is red cappuccino healthy?
Red cappuccino is made with concentrated rooibos tea more known as red espresso which has also amazing health benefits. They are as follows:
Naturally caffeine–free
Red espresso is made from 100% pure rooibos tea that has been specifically ground to be used in coffee machines to make a range of excellent rooibos drinks, much like coffee.
It’s naturally sugar-free and caffeine-free, making it a healthy alternative to coffee and other sugar-based beverages like hot chocolate. Because it has no caffeine, you can drink it at night without fear of disrupting your sleeping time.
Unlike green and black teas, rooibos is a herbal tea or tisane that’s not decaffeinated but is naturally caffeine-free. This means it’s not only safe but also healthy for children, pregnant, and breastfeeding moms, or for anyone who wants to reduce their caffeine intake.
According to studies, some of the major benefits of avoiding caffeine include:
- Reducing the risk of cardiac arrests
- Lowering blood pressure
- Increasing the quality of your sleep
- Decreased anxiety
- No mood swings
- Reducing work stress
- Fewer headaches
In fact, red espresso has the opposite effect on the body as to what caffeine does: the potent antioxidants it contains soothe your central nervous system, allowing you to relax and have a good night’s sleep.
It’s also useful for relieving headaches, irritability, and hypertension, as well as improving focus.
If you’re interested in learning more about caffeine and what it does to our body, I’ve written an in-depth post about it that you can read right here.
Contains 10 x more antioxidants than regular rooibos tea
Rooibos red espresso is an antioxidant powerhouse. It has been proven that red espresso has 10 times more antioxidants than standard rooibos tea due to its espresso-like processing and the finer grinds of the herb.
This means that both flavor and health benefits are boosted tenfold in red espresso making it the healthiest of all the rooibos drinks!
Aspalathin, an antioxidant found only in the rooibos plant that can lower blood glucose levels, is also boosted 10x on red espresso.
A potent immune system booster
Several studies on rooibos have revealed that it can be a powerful immune system booster, containing:
- anti-viral
- anti-carcinogenic
- anti-aging properties
Naturally sweet without the sugar
Rooibos is low in calories and can be equally tasty without additional sugar because it contains a natural hint of sweetness, making it a perfect choice for those on calorie-restricted diets or those suffering from diabetes.
Low in tannin
Because Rooibos has a low tannin concentration, it does not taste bitter even when brewed for a longer duration. It also means that it doesn’t interfere with the absorption of proteins and iron into the body in the same way as other teas and coffee do, making it ideal for anemic people and pregnant women.
No oxalic acid
Rooibos is also a suitable choice for people who are prone to kidney stones because it contains no oxalic acid (a toxic acid present in some plants).
A great fluid replacement
Rooibos is a non-diuretic, which means it doesn’t cause your body to produce more urine, as other teas and coffee may.
The following are the powerful health benefits of rooibos red espresso:
- Protects your heart
- Boosts your immune system
- Helps slow down the aging process
- Protects your cells against diseases like cancer
- Detoxes the body
- Helps soothe headaches
- It’s antispasmodic and helps with insomnia and anxiety
- It has a calming benefit on the nervous system.
- Acts as a digestive aid
- It’s anti-allergenic and anti-asthmatic. It may help treat hay fever and eczema
- Helps with the relief of stomach cramps, nausea, ulcers, heartburn, and constipation
With so many fantastic health advantages, I am sure you are considering adding rooibos red espresso into your everyday diet.
How is red cappuccino made?
Rooibos cappuccinos and lattes can be made in an espresso machine, using ground rooibos, or simply by making a strong cup of rooibos and adding frothed milk made with a milk frother.
Here is an easy step-by-step recipe for making a great cup of red cappuccino.
Ingredients
- Ground rooibos red espresso
- Milk (can use almond, rice, oat and seed milks too!)
- Cinnamon
- Honey
Instructions
- Make ground rooibos red espresso like when you prepare an espresso shot using yout favorite coffee maker.
- Now add equal portions of steamed and foamed milk
- Serve with cinnamon and honey.
How to make red cappuccino tea
- Steep the rooibos tea for about 10 minutes or until the whole pot is flavored.
- Steam the milk as your tea steeps. The steam attachment on an espresso machine, a press, or a foamer can be used.
- Pour the aromatic tea in your favorite cup, set the foamed milk at the top, and serve.
How to brew red espresso for cappuccino using a French press
Instructions
- Ensure your French press is clean.
- Scoop 14g (2 tablespoons) rooibos red espresso per cup.
- Add more rooibos red espresso to adjust the strength of the brew.
- Fill up the glass cylinder with hot water that has not yet reached the boiling point.
- Stir gently.
- To keep the heat in, place the plunger on top of the glass cylinder without pushing down.
- Allow rooibos red espresso to brew for 2-3 minutes.
- Press down plunger slowly.
If you’re curious about the nutritional content of a cup of red cappuccino, the table below shows its nutritional information.
| Serving size | 1 cup (250 ml) |
| Calories | 246 |
| Fats | 10.25 grams |
| Carbs | 25. 36 grams |
| Proteins | 10. 32 grams |
| Sodium | 0 mg |
If you want to know more about how to make a red cappuccino at home, you can watch this video:
To sum it all up
Whether you’re a coffee lover looking to reduce your caffeine intake, a pregnant lady who misses coffee, or simply concerned about living a better lifestyle, red cappuccino is a delicious and healthy beverage you can turn to without the caffeine guilt.
This red beverage is jam-packed with health benefits in the form of antioxidants. Aspalathin, an antioxidant only found in rooibos lowers the body’s sugar levels.
Aside from that, any beverage made from rooibos boosts the immune system, detoxifies the body and protects the cells from cancer, helps soothe headaches, and more.
If you haven’t tried red cappuccino, latte, or just regular rooibos tea, I definitely recommend that you try any of them because all of them are delicious and healthy.
I’m not kidding when I say that a cup of a rooibos beverage a day may help keep the doctor away. The best part is that you can make these beverages easily at home.