Mexican
Agua de Jamaica
Dried hibiscus flowers simmer with cinnamon and ginger, then sweeten and chill into a deep red drink. Lime brightens the glass just before serving.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- A short simmer pulls color from the hibiscus without boiling it into bitterness.
- Sugar dissolves while the tea is hot, then the drink is chilled.
- Ginger and cinnamon sit in the pot and come out with the flowers.
- Lime at the end keeps the flavor bright after the chill.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Put the water, dried hibiscus flowers, cinnamon stick, and ginger in a saucepan.
- 2
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower to a simmer.
- 3
Simmer 8 minutes. The liquid should be a deep red.
- 4
Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves.
- 5
Steep 15 minutes off the heat.
- 6
Strain into a pitcher. Discard the flowers, cinnamon stick, and ginger. Stir in the lime juice.
- 7
Refrigerate until cold.
- 8
Serve over the ice with the lime wedges. This makes about 8 glasses.
Pro tips
- A long hard boil makes the drink bitter and cloudy. Eight minutes is enough.
- Taste before you chill it. Cold dulls sweetness, so it should taste a little sweet while warm.
- Dried hibiscus is sometimes labeled jamaica in Latin markets.
Easy substitutions
- granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup honey, stirred in off the heat
- fresh ginger
- 2 strips of orange peel
- lime juice
- lemon juice
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate in a covered pitcher up to 5 days. Stir before serving.
Reheating
Do not reheat. Serve cold over ice. It can also be poured over ice while still slightly warm if you want it sooner.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 80
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
Budget friendly · Stovetop
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