Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus is the one herbal tea that boiling water does not harm. What harms it is time: after ten minutes an astringent bitterness appears and the colour turns from ruby to muddy brown. Five minutes gives you the brightest red drink there is.
- Prep
- 3 min
- Rest
- 7 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 30 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 1 l, 4 mugs
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Warm the pot
Rinse a glass or ceramic pot with boiling water. Avoid metal with hibiscus: its acidity reacts with the metal and spoils the taste.
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Step 2: Brew with boiling water
Add the flowers, pour over boiling water and cover. This is the rare herbal tea that genuinely wants 95–100 °C — cooler water will not pull the colour.
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Step 3: Five to seven minutes
Steep no longer than seven. The petals should go pale and the water deep ruby; past ten minutes bitterness arrives.
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Step 4: Strain and sweeten
Strain, add lemon, and stir in honey once it is warm rather than hot. Hibiscus is sharply sour by nature, so sweetening is fair here.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Hibiscus lowers blood pressure whether it is hot or cold — the old claim that hot raises it does not hold up. Go easy if yours runs low.
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Tip
Do not throw the spent petals away: they are edible and pleasantly sour, and good stirred into oatmeal or yoghurt.
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Variation
Cold brew: cover the flowers with cold water and leave 8 hours in the fridge. Softer, almost without astringency, and a brilliant red.
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Storage
Brewed, two days in the fridge. The dried flowers keep a year in a sealed jar away from light.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 30 kcal | 120 kcal |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8 g | 32 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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