SPILLING THE TEA on SOUTHERN AFRICA 🇿🇦🇿🇼(ROOIBOS TEA and TRAVEL STORIES!)

hello guys and welcome back to anotherepisode of international night in this episode we are going to be wanderingafter the region of southern Africa particularly Zimbabwe and South Africa Iwent there about a year and a half ago and I produced an entire series on thisregion some of the top vlogs of this region are on our channel Run theAtlas so be sure to subscribe down below and check those out!But today during this time of quarantine we're going to talk about thesecountries and prepare a little something special in the kitchen herethat I experienced during my travels there so without further ado let's gookay so I spent about two weeks in southern Africa traveling from SouthAfrica Johannesburg to Cape Town and it symbolically to visit Victoria Fallswonders of the world and during this time I got to experience many differentfacets of the food of this region some of the most popular things that you willsee in southern Africa are the braai which is a barbecue over an open flame Iwill not be doing in this kitchen I also saw biltong which is basicallylike a beef jerky only with game meats again not readily available in theUnited States another thing very popular in southern Africa is what's calledbunny Chow which is a giant block of white bread filled to the brimwith curried meats.

In Zimbabwe they're commonly known for sadza which is aporridge which is served alongside of also stewed meats and collard greensyou'll also see the dish called Mopani this is for the adventuroustraveler but they are served dried and they are these large worms that look likecaterpillars.

Today I'm going to be making something much more approachablemuch more Amazon Prime friendly so you can make this at home while you arewanderlusting about this region – that is rooibos tea! Have you guys tried rooibos teayet? It's an herbal tea caffeine free.

I have two different varieties here I have onecalled Numi, it's rich and earthy and I have another one called Steep which is ahibiscus flavored rooibos now this has a slew of health benefits which I think weall need during this time but it's rich in antioxidants and helps to lowerinflammation that is happy and free so you can drink this any time of theday I'm going to prepare a latte with this during my trip to Southern Africa Isaw this drink throughout the region it's more common in South Africa and Zimbabwebut I saw it in both places.

I love this drink so much.

It's also known as red tea.

When I came back to the States I no longer saw itanymore so I decided might as well take things into our own handsand since the cafes are closed and become a barista for the day.

Okay so I have a tea concentrate going here with the Numi blend of rooibos and I'm going to froth some milk.

I have milked oats here.

This is aspecial barista blend that is perfect for frothing it steams and blends beautifully andit's also made with only five ingredients and no added gums foremulsifiers so this is the one that I'm using its called Elmhurst and I justpurchased this which is a steamer off of Amazon Prime works really well and in notime all right so just like that is made adelicious froth let's pour it in this is arguably the easiest littletreat that you can make from Southern Africa cheers everybody! mmm it is so earthy delicious it kind oftastes a little bit like an yerba matte if you guys are familiar with that.

It'svery mellow and it's perfect to go along with a good book.

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or two! The firstbook that I want to recommend to you is this one called “Into Africa” by MartinDugard and this is the story of Explorer David Livingstone you will seeDavid Livingstone statue when you visit Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and it'sgreat to know a little bit about the history of how this waterfall came to beknown to the to the mass public and much of that is because of David Livingstonein 1866 Livingstone world right now you can explore decided for God Queen andcountry now the Nile does not travel dueZimbabwe or South Africa it goes through 11 countries the waterway flows upwardtowards the Mediterranean so it was one of the most geological mysteries at thetime no one really knew what was the source was in a lake was it a waterfallwas it an ocean so he traversed the continent and his travels areextraordinary because he traveled to Africa during a time when people did notknow much about the interior of this continent it was similar to traveling tothe moon it was that unknown this is a heart-pounding read talks about howhe went missing and there was a quest to find him forthis news breaking story in this man Henry Morton Stanleydecided to head into Africa on a quest to find Livingstone he traversed thearea where Livingstone was last seen almost taking him nearly a year he fellill with tropical diseases multiple times finally he reaches a village whereLivingstone is presumed to be and he sees a very tanned Englishman, he goes upto him and so formally asks “Dr.

Livingstone I presume?”Now did Livingstone ever find the source of the Nile? Was that really Livingstone?you will have to read to find out but this is one of the most courageousstories of human achievement.

This is the same quest that draws people to thiscontinent to this day – it is wild intrepid, it is nature at its finest! Andit still has that undiscovered feel.

The original name for Victoria Falls is Mosaoy a tuna which means “the smoke that thunders” and when you reach thiswaterfall one of the wonders of the world you're crossing this barrensavanna and then all of a sudden becomes morelush and you hear this rapid white noise of water and then you can see the waterlike travelling this way because of the wind nothing in sight to suggest thatthere is a waterfall except it's getting more and more lush and finally you seethis giant smoke rising from the earth this primordial opening of the earthwith these cliffs and this water this the largest curtain of the waterthe world just massive sometimes you'll see rainbows in the middle of thewaterfall living student beautifully described it “no one can imagine thebeauty of the view from anything witnessed in England; it has never beenseen before by European eyes but seemed so lovely must have been gazed upon byangels in their flight” I can't think of a better way to describe Victoria Falls.

If you are headed to South Africa you must include this on your trip.

A lot ofpeople ask me about the safety and to be honest with you – the biggest safety issue.

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there are many.

You're in Africa this is a place of extreme wilderness there arewild animals seemingly at every moment and we went to the historic colonialVictoria Falls Hotel one of the most beautiful hotels it takes you back intotime it's like a time capsule.

We walk out onto the courtyard and there's thesemagnificent mango trees just mangoes dripping.

A monkey climbing and graspingfor mangoes we think that he might land upon us or attack us it's truly one ofthe scariest moments of the trip but he ends up dropping mangoes just abundantmingos on the floor and I grabbed one and I cannot wait it is intact I cannotwait to try it I'll wash it off of course and I take itinto a nearby cafe where I'd order a rooibos tea the server asks us wouldwe like a plate for the mango and I say yeah sure I open it up and it is thejuiciest mango I have ever tried.

I have some dried mango here let's try it.

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takes me right back to that moment! Thesecond book I want to recommend to you since if you're travelling to us thatyou will have quite a bit of time on your hands especially if you're comingfrom the states 20 hours flight it's good to know a little bit about thehistory of modern South Africa and that is Nelson Mandela this his memoir “a longwalk to freedom” this man was imprisoned for 27 years andit talks about his quest to bring democracy to a country that wascompletely divided racially and politically for many many decades andtruly off-limits for a lot of travelers as well.

I went to his house in Sowetoand it was a very humbling experience.

Soweto is a Township, mostly black.

Itwas interesting to retrace his steps this is a man who completely changed hiscountry.

He is the first democratically elected leader one of the mostinspirational stories his courageousness his empathy his leadership in bringingpeople together after the aparteid movement was truly truly spectacular Ihighly recommend if you visit South Africa to visit JohannesburgJohannesburg is a city where you will have the opportunity to visit Mandela'shouse you will also have the opportunity to visit the apartheid museum so it'svery interesting to read the history of this country.

Now, while I was on the plane to South Africa I flew on Emirates and I was ableto watch The Lion King the original Disney series I have a scene here TheLion King this is one of the first movies that inspired me to visit Africait shows the wilderness it shows the safari it shows the animals.

Now theanimals are one of the main reasons why you want to visit southern Africa wewent on a tour of Kruger National Park which is one of the best game reservesto see the big five.

Check out the video I'm going to link it up above but we touredwith industry polls which is a tour company that set up the entire trip forus they connected us with local guides they organized the game drive and theyalso organized the flakes and the combinations which was really greatbecause all we had to do was show up so it's great to visit a region of theworld like this that is so different from the US where you can just focus onenjoying your trip with that being said cheers everybody I hope you get to enjoythis world boys teeth enjoy the movies in these novels from this region oncequarantine is over I hope that you get a chance to visit me soon let us know whatcountry or region of the world you'd like us to cover next on internationalnight boat down below love to hear your suggestions and if you've been to SouthAfrica or some maguey let us know your recommendations be sure to LIKE andsubscribe for more travel related videos every Travel Tuesday Cheers!.