Hibiscus Tea Recipe
Today we are making a Hibiscus Tea recipe! There are so many varieties of this popular drink with different names! Specifically, the one we’re making today is Agua Fresca de Jamaica! This refreshing drink uses dried hibiscus flowers (jamaica flowers, aka flor de jamaica in spanish, which are the dried flowers of the hibiscus sabdariffa plant, aka roselle), water, sugar, ginger, lemon slices, allspice and a cinnamon stick. Fresh hibiscus flowers are native to West Africa and have since spread to many parts of the world.
This refreshing drink is served as a hot cup of tea or an iced drink on a hot day, and usually with a midday meal. But why is the drink named after Jamaica though? Agua de Jamaica translates to “Jamaica water,” because it used widely in Jamaica (called sorrel). On other websites, it’s a toss between Africa and India as to the origins. However, these flowers arrived in Mexico during colonial times and are now a part of the Mexican culture.
Aside from this, hibiscus is actually used all over the world! In Europe, this is Italian tea or carcade, but it is also known as Zobo (Nigeria), Karkade Tea (Egypt), Sorrel (Caribbean) and more. In Egypt, it is used as a toast at weddings! The hibiscus flower, which is the star of the show here, goes by many different names as well. You can typically find hibiscus leaves in Mexican markets, and in Jamaica it is sweeter and iced versus other ways around the world.
Why You’ll Love This Hibiscus Tea Recipe
Hibiscus Tea Benefits: The hibiscus flower has a lot of amazing benefits for the immune system. It has a high level of iron, can lower blood pressure, can lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar levels, support liver health, is rich in Vitamin C and more!
Bright Summer Colors: The color of hibiscus petals is bright red and reminds me of fruit punch! It’s a great way to make beautiful summer party drink. Add in orange, lemon zest, lime slices, mint leaves, some fresh flower petals and more. You can leave these to infuse overnight, which makes the flavor of the lime, mint, cucumber, orange and other add-ins much stronger.
Hot or Iced: This soothing tea is for all year round! You can make it hot tea during the winter, with the cinnamon (and even star anise) infused in it. Or skip the cinnamon and add in freshly squeezed orange and lime juice (or a grape or cranberry juice)! with some frozen blueberries to make it a fun iced tea. There’s many different options on how to drink this herbal tea.
Personally, I enjoy making it hot, adding in fresh lime slices, letting it cool down and then refrigerating it to have a chilled drink the next day. Right before serving, I’ll add in some monkfruit sweetener and fresh blueberries!
Substitutions
Xylitol: Feel free to use another sweetener of your choice. Regular white sugar works, although it won’t be the healthiest option. Monkfruit sweetener may work well here too. You can also use stevia drops if you want to skip the step of making the simple syrup with the boiling water, or if you want to use less sugar but still add some sweetness. 100% pure maple syrup can work, but only half as much since it is sweeter than xylitol.
Hibiscus Tea Recipe Notes
- You can buy hibiscus leaves online or in some health food stores. Personally, I haven’t been able to find it at my local grocery store. I buy it online from the company Organic Traditions.
- Feel free to add more cups of water to this recipe to dilute it if it’s too strong. I kept it to only 3 cups of water because adding ice cubes will dilute the drink further.
- If making this into a party drink and adding in other juices, such as cranberry juice, reduce the amount of water by the amount of juice you are adding. Don’t add the juice into the pot when infusing the spices. Instead, add it in at the end with the ice.
- The steeping process takes a half hour as the recipe card states below, because the boiled water is too hot to add ice cubes into. To make this process quicker, prepare the stovetop mixture the day before and refrigerate it. When ready to serve, just pop in the ice cubes!
More Summer Drink Recipes You’ll Love
Iced Peppermint Mocha: This is a Starbucks remake recipe! As their website describes it, the festive all-star Peppermint Mocha brightens the holidays: signature Espresso Roast combines with steamed milk, sweet mocha sauce and peppermint-flavoured syrup, topped with whipped cream and dark-chocolate curls. But now, this is all iced!
Frozen Hot Chocolate: Say hello to this all-around favorite Christmas drink, with rich cacao flavors and tons of whipped cream, all chilled and made for an indulgent summer drink.
Mango Lassi: Mango Lassi is one of the most famous drinks in India! It’s a yogurt-based drink, with fresh mango pulp and lots of sugar. This recipe veganizes it all, with less sugar than traditional mango lassi would have – and none of the dairy!
Iced White Chocolate Mocha: A homemade Starbucks remake again! Starbucks states signature espresso meets white chocolate sauce, milk and ice, and then is finished off with sweetened whipped cream to create this supreme white chocolate delight!
Pomegranate Grapefruit Mocktail: If you don’t drink, or are looking to cut back on the alcohol, this is the perfect recipe to replace your weekly cocktail with. Fresh grapefruit and pomegranate provide tanginess and natural sugars to make this drink provide immune benefits and taste delicious.
If you make this Hibiscus Tea Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Hibiscus Tea Recipe (Agua de Jamaica)
Equipment
- Stovetop Pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- ½ cup dried hibiscus leaves
- 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice Add 2 tbsp if you prefer it to be more tangy
- 1-2 1-inch slice ginger thin slices – add 2 for a stronger ginger flavor
- ½ medium cinnamon stick
- 6 tbsp xylitol
Instructions
- In a large pot on the stove over medium high heat, boil water with the sugar and spices. Stir it every so often to make sure the sugar dissolves. Use only 3 cups water if you're going to drink it cold, or all 4 cups of water if you're drinking it hot.
- Once it's boiling and the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat and stir in the hibiscus leaves.
- Let it sit for a half hour. You can leave it for longer as well.
- Strain into a pitcher so all spices and hibiscus flowers get strained out. Add in ice cubes to serve.
- Serve with lemon slices and enjoy cold!
