Hibiscus

History

Carried from West Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade, and to Egypt and Sudan through overland routes. The Jamaican sorrel drunk at Christmas, Mexican agua de Jamaica and Egyptian karkade are the same plant arriving by three different histories.

How it is drunk

In Egypt and Sudan karkade is served hot in winter and iced in summer, and at weddings. In Mexico agua de Jamaica is sold from glass jars in every market. In the Caribbean sorrel is spiced with ginger and clove and drunk at Christmas. Nigeria drinks it as zobo.

Production

The fleshy calyces are picked after the flower drops, separated from the seed pod and sun-dried. Sudanese material is prized for colour and Egyptian for balance, and the two are graded separately in the trade.

Preparation

Infusion · Cold infusion · Decoction

• Boiling and decoction

  1–3 g/100 ml · 98–100 °C · 10 min

What gets confused

Sold as 'hibiscus flower', which is misleading — the calyx is used and the petal is not. Ornamental garden hibiscus is a different species and is not this plant.

Common mistakes

• Judging it unsweetened. Every tradition that drinks it sweetens it.

Related botanicals

• Rosehip — Both tart red infusions and routinely blended together, to the point where either name may be on a packet containing mostly the other.
• Tamarind — Both sour, both sold from glass jars in Mexican markets, and neither drunk unsweetened anywhere it is traditional.
• Rosehip — Blends of the two are sold under either name. Hibiscus is the deeper red and the sharper.
• Dried apple — Dried apple is frequently the largest ingredient by weight in a fruit infusion named after something else.
• Beetroot — Deep red infusions whose colour is most of the appeal, and which both brown as they stand.
• Sea buckthorn — Ferociously sour infusions that nobody drinks unsweetened, and that stain everything they touch.
• Pomegranate — Tannic red fruit materials that were dye and tanning stuffs before they were drinks.
• Sour cherry — Sharp red drinks of Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean, both taken sweetened and often iced.
• Beetroot — Deep red infusions whose colour is most of the appeal, and both fade as the cup stands.

Comparisons

• Hibiscus vs rosehip — Two tart red infusions blended together so routinely that a packet naming one usually contains a good deal of the other. Telling them apart is mostly a labelling question.
• Beetroot vs hibiscus — Two deep red infusions whose colour is most of the appeal, and both brown as they stand. One has a tradition behind it on four continents; the other is a modern blending ingredient.
• Sea buckthorn vs hibiscus — Two ferociously sour drinks that nobody takes unsweetened, and both stain everything they touch. One is a thorny northern berry; the other a tropical calyx drunk on four continents.
• Pomegranate vs hibiscus — Two tannic red fruit materials that were dyeing and tanning stuffs before they were drinks. Pomegranate peel is the most astringent thing in this catalogue and tastes nothing like the juice.
• Sour cherry vs hibiscus — Two sharp red drinks of Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean, both taken sweetened and often iced. One is a stone fruit with a marzipan note; the other a tropical calyx with none.
• Hibiscus vs sour cherry — The two red sour drinks of Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean, both taken sweetened and often iced. One is a calyx and one is a stone fruit.
• Sumac vs hibiscus — Two sour red materials used where citrus arrived late, both steeped into cold drinks, and one of which is widely cut with salt.

Guides

• Flowers used in herbal drinks
• Traditional botanical drinks around the world
• One plant, many names
• How to tell flavouring from plant material
• Sweetening botanical infusions
• Iced and chilled botanical drinks
• What is actually in a herbal blend
• The first five botanicals to try
• How herbal infusions are categorised
• Herbal blending

Evidence for this page