Hibiscus Tea with Dried Flowers - Serve Hot or Cold! - The Foreign Fork (2024)

Published on Jun 21, 2022 Modified: Aug 7, 2020 by Alexandria Drzazgowski. This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Hibiscus Tea is a popular drink in Burkina Faso and Jamaica. This iteration shows how to make hibiscus tea with dried flowers for those that do not have access to fresh hibiscus flowers. It is great served warm or cold!

“Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!”

I love making different drinks, especially teas, on the blog (like this Cinnamon Tea Recipe!) and it’s so fun to see the exciting flavors we can get when experimenting with new ingredients.Each country has a unique way to prepare its tea, like this Japanese Milk Tea.

This Hibiscus Tea is such a fun recipe to try out for a brightly colored and delicious drink recipe. I had never tried Hibiscus before making this recipe, but now I’m hooked!

It is a refreshing drink to enjoy on a hot day if served chilled, but it can also keep you nice and cozy on a cold day if served warm! Try making this tea and let me know if you get hooked on hibiscus, too.

Recipe Origins

Hibiscus Tea is made by infusing hibiscus flowers, either dried or fresh, into water. The end result is this lovely pink herbal tea that tastes great, too!

I originally made this drink to represent Burkina Faso (alongside Fat Rice) on my cook-the-world journey, as it is a popular drink in the country.

Hibiscus Sabdariffa is a species of the Hibiscus plant that grows in Africa, usually in West Africa. Burkina Faso is located in West Africa, and therefore the people there often enjoy a hot tea made with the flower petals of this plant!

In Burkina Faso, it is common to serve this drink with Pineapple. I loved the idea of fruit-infused tea, so I paired my hibiscus tea recipe with strawberries and basil.

This is also a popular drink choice in Jamaica, with Hibiscus Tea sometimes being called Agua de Jamaica or Jamaica Tea. Hibiscus flowers are sometimes called flor de Jamaica. In Egypt it is called Karkade Tea!

Many hibiscus tea recipes call for fresh hibiscus flowers, but it can be hard to find access to them at times! Instead of finding fresh flowers, this recipe is made using dried hibiscus flowers.

Why Make this Recipe

1. Beautiful Color: I love making this recipe because of the absolutely beautiful color that the hibiscus flowers leave behind! This pink and purple drink is the most gorgeous drink you’ll sip on this week!
2. Infused with Flavor: This recipe is great for you if you are looking to infuse more flavor into your tea. The strawberries and basil combine with the hibiscus to create a really exciting flavor.
3. Try Something New: Not many people have tried hibiscus before, but this is such a fun plant to experiment with!

What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

1. Dried Hibiscus Flowers: These come from the hibiscus plant. You can find these at some health food stores, but they can also be bought online. If stored properly, your dried Hibiscus flowers can last up to 2 years.
2. Lime Juice: Try to get fresh lime juice if possible. If you are not able to, you can also use the pre-packaged lime juice!
3. Basil Leaves & Strawberries: These are for extra flavor, but they can be omitted if you want a simpler recipe for Hibiscus Tea.
4. Honey: Optional, but used to sweeten your drink if you’d like. Alternatively, you can add sugar or stevia as a sweetener.

Tools

1. Large Pot + Lid
2. Colander: You will need a fine mesh colander to catch all of the hibiscus leaves.

How to Make this Recipe

Step 1: Make the Tea

Add the water and hibiscus leaves in a large pot and cover with a lid. Heat on high until the water starts to boil.

Once boiling, turn off the heat. Add the basil, strawberries, and lime juice to the hot water and cover.

Let sit, covered, for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Prepare to Serve

Strain the hibiscus flowers, basil leaves, and strawberries out of the liquid. Mix in the honey.

Pour into glasses and garnish with fresh strawberries and basil leaves. Enjoy!

Additional Flavorings

If you want to add different flavors to your Hibiscus Tea that aren’t mentioned above, consider trying some of these options:

• Cranberry Juice
• Maple Syrup
• Cinnamon Stick
• Simple Syrup
• Black Tea
• Lemon Juice
• Green Tea
• Mint Leaves

Health Benefits of Hibiscus Flower Tea

According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are some amazing benefits to drinking tea made with hibiscus petals. Some of the health benefits include the following:

• A great source of antioxidants, especially with Vitamin C and betacarotene.
• Fights inflammation
• Can help with weight loss
• Can lower blood pressure: High blood pressure is a large problem in adults, especially in the US. Drinking this tea could help lower your blood pressure. However, if you are prone to low blood pressure, you may experience this as a negative side effect instead.

Please note, I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Make sure to talk to your doctor about using herbal tea for these benefits.

Expert Tips

• Serve this tea warm or make iced tea by cooling it down in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving it with ice cubes.
• Hibiscus stains easily, so be careful when making this drink!
• This drink can have a tart flavor, so it is common to serve it with a sweetener of your choice. My favorite sweetener is honey, but other good options are listed in the Ingredient Notes!
• You can also turn this recipe into popsicles if you want to serve it to your kids!

Recipe FAQs

Did you enjoy this recipe? If so, you should check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:

• Pineapple Coconut Agua Fresca
• Butter Tea from Bhutan
• Homemade Ginger Juice
• Iced Coffee Recipe from Southeast Asia