Hibiscus
Hibiscus sabdariffa
It is not the petals you drink but the ruby-red calyces, tart as cranberry: the bissap of West Africa and Mexico's agua de jamaica.
Many people confuse tea hibiscus with the big showy flower of tropical gardens. It is not the same plant. Hibiscus sabdariffa, also called roselle or Guinea sorrel, is an annual shrub about a metre and a half tall, with red stems and pale yellow flowers that last a single day. What is harvested is what remains after the flower: the fleshy, bright red calyx wrapped around the seed capsule.
A global drink
From Senegal to Sudan it is drunk as bissap or karkadé, sweetened and iced, in the streets and at weddings. In Mexico it is agua de jamaica, the cool drink of the markets. In Jamaica it becomes Christmas sorrel, with ginger and rum. Few plants have travelled so far and changed names so often while keeping the same tart taste.
Harvest and origin
The calyces are picked by hand two to three weeks after flowering, while still tender. The seed capsule is removed and the calyces are sun-dried, shrinking and darkening as they go. The shop's are organic, from Egypt and Burkina Faso, chosen for deep colour and clean acidity.
In the workshop
A pinch is enough to turn a whole teapot ruby red. Étienne uses it in several tea blends, with rose, raspberry leaf or cinnamon, and likes it as much hot as iced. The taste recalls cranberry and sour cherry, with an almost wine-like length on the palate.
Our products are artisanal plant-based preparations. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.