Hibiscus Cooler (Jamaica Drink)

Summer being here it is time for more cool drinks while you're hacking away at those summer projects. Everyone does Lemonade and Ice Tea (Boring!), so i decided to make the traditional mexican beverage of Jamaica, also marketed as Hibiscus Cooler.

This drink takes the sour flower of the hibiscus plant and makes a wonderful flavorful beverage with minimal ingredients.

Step 1: Ingredients

For this you will need

5 cups of water
1/2 c. of dried hibiscus flowers, look in mexican food stores if you can't find them at your local store.
1/2 c. Agave Nectar or similar sweetener
1/2 Lemon

Comments

[kmagic4]

you can get the flowers at wegmans or other large megamarts as bulk hibiscus tea, you just have to look at the ingredients and make sure that that is the onl ingredient. usually it is

[gtoal]

I've been making Jamaica with just the flowers and Splenda for some years now. I make it super strong, and use it as a concentrate with a sodastream machine, although the fizzy version took a little getting used to!

[blodefood]

I get the blooms either dried or fresh at a local West/East Indian, South Asian grocery. The grocery carries dried blooms all year round, but in the winter you can get fresh ones. The recipe on the package says you can add spices like cinnamon, clove and ginger in the steeping stage. This makes a nice Christmas drink. I don't use much sweetener as I like it more tart.

[kachibachi]

The hibiscus species used is Hibiscus Sabdariffa, commonly known as Roselle or Sorrel. It is the sepals which are used for drink infusions. The petals are sweet and edible. It grows readily in the southern states. Another common name for it is Florida Cranberry.

[collind]

What exactly do you mean by "Mexican beverage of Jamaica"? What does Mexico have to do with Jamaica? They are two totally different countries and cultures. Just curious, thanks.

[danyforreal]

What he means is that in Mexico there is a beverage called Jamaica. You can find it in the states in Mexican stores and authentic Mexican restaurants if you ask for "Agua de Jamaica" which translates to Jamaica Drink. They usually have them in these big dispensers that stir the drinks and they will have other flavors like Horchata (Rice Drink), Tamarindo (Tamarind, my favorite :), Pineapple, etc. Jamaica has a very distinct flavor you would have to try it for yourself. Hope you like it and it's nice to see that other Mexican things that not a lot of people know about are being posted up here.

[nunja business]

Maybe he means this is what the Mexicans in Jamaica drink? I LOLed when I saw that myself. Delicious drink, by the way.

[Calico Jack]

The name of this drink is pronounced huh-MY-cah. In Jamaica, it is called sorrel. It also has many other names depending on where you are in the world. It can also be made into a wine. I would love to see a recipe for that around here.

[Nordique4]

you can make wine using mixing 12cups Hibiscus tea with 3 cups of honey. Transfer the hibiscus - honey mixture to a jar, crock, or bucket for a few days untill the mixture shows signs of fermentation, and/or bubbles. Transfer mixture into a "carboy" with an airlock ( a balloon works just as well too). The honey wine is ready to drink in 4 - 6 weeks. It is ready to bottle when all fermentation has commenced, this could take 6 - 8 months. This recipe is a variation on "Tej" Ethiopian honey wine (mead), from the book "Wild Fermentation" by "Sandor Katz" http://www.wildfermentation.com/

[tirwander]

Tasty! I think that adding maybe a cup of high quality, fresh lemonade to it, instead of just lemon juice, may make it perfect!

[tirwander]

Making this now! We will see how it turns out. My pitcher is huge... like 14 cups! So I am doubling everything. A whole cup of agave seems like a lot... but we shall see! :)