Hibiscus Ginger Tea Recipe

At the Juneteenth celebration I attended yesterday, they served a delicious red hibiscus ginger tea over ice. They, also, gave out the recipe for the tea which I have included in this blog.

According to my internet research, hibiscus ginger tea most likely originated in Africa. Hibiscus tea is commonly sold in markets there. Dry flowers for tea use can be found in both West and East Africa. Hibiscus ginger tea can be sold either iced or hot.

Hibiscus ginger tea is, also, popular in the Caribbean. In Jamaica, they use boiling water, add the hibiscus calyces along with ginger, steep the mixture and add sugar. Commonly they also add cloves, cinnamon and a little white rum.

Hibiscus ginger tea is the traditional Christmas drink in Jamaica served with fruitcake or potato pudding.

Ingredients for Make Hibiscus Ginger Tea

• 4 cups of water
• 4-inch Piece of Ginger, peeled and sliced
• 4 Hibiscus Tea Bags or 2/3 cup of dried Hibiscus flowers
• 1/4 Cup of Granulated Sugar (or honey) or to taste
• Fresh Mint or Lemon Slices to Garnish glasses

Directions

1. In a large pot bring water to boil. Add the ginger slices and hibiscus. Stir in sugar and stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Turn the stove off and let the tea steep for one hour.
2. Pour the mixture through a strainer or use a slotted spoon to remove the tea bags and ginger slices. Refrigerate the tea until it is cold at least 3 or 4 hours.
3. Serve the Hibiscus Ginger Tea over ice with a lemon slice or mint garnishes.

For Your Information – I was a little curious about Jamaican potato pudding, so I looked it up online.

Apparently, the Jamaican sweet potato has a white or light yellow flesh with an outer red skin. It can be found most often in international-type grocery stores under the name of “batata”. Most people think batatas taste sweeter than orange-flesh sweet potatoes.

I believe this is what they make their potato pudding with but would love to hear from my Readers about this.

Question of the Day – Have you ever tried hibiscus ginger or mint tea?