Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Water)
If you can make tea, you can make this gorgeous, bright pink beverage, too.
Photography by Linda Pugliese; Food Styling by Christine Albano; Prop Styling by Carla Gonzalez-Hart
Agua de jamaica owes its deep pink color and tart, perfumy flavor to the flower of a common garden plant: hibiscus. Called jamaica (pronounced ha-MY-kuh) in Spanish, the shrub thrives in subtropical climates. Dried hibiscus flowers are often labeled “flor de jamaica” in Latin American markets and in health food stores. The recipe for this faintly sweet drink, which uses dried hibiscus flowers, comes from the Enríquez family in El Paso.
Featured in “From Jamaica to Senegal, This Crimson Infusion Reigns Supreme.”
Agua de Jamaica
Dried hibiscus flowers lend their flavor to this sweet, refreshing drink.
Yield: makes 6 cups
Time:
5 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp. sugar
- 2 cups dried jamaica (hibiscus) flowers
Instructions
- In a pot, bring the sugar and 6 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the jamaica flowers, remove from the heat, and let steep for at least 5 hours. Strain into a pitcher and serve over ice. (Agua de jamaica will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.)
