Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Flower Iced Tea)

Happy Sunday!! Hope you are all having a great weekend. I have been soaking up as much of this beautiful Oregon sun as possible. It has been in the 90's here which is HOT for us Oregonians! I love it though! I thought I would share with you all a super easy refreshing iced tea recipe that I learned how to make in Mexico. It is made from "flor de jamaica" or hibiscus flowers (dried). Hibiscus flours are a semi-unusual ingredient and may be bit hard to find, but I'm guessing your nearest Mexican grocer will have some in stock. Hibiscus flowers are really good for you as they are full of vitamin C. The tea has a strong fruity flavor, you will definitley want to add sugar or sugar substitute because it is pretty sour on it's own. I hope you enjoy this refreshing bebida! Have a stupendous rest of your weekend, Liz

Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Flower Iced Tea)

2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (rinsed)

8 cups water

3/4 - 1 cup sugar

Put half of the water into a pan with the flowers and sugar.

Stir to combine, put over medium heat and bring to a boil. When boiling, turn burner down to low and cover pot, allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

After simmering for 15 minutes, remove from heat, use a collander to strain out flowers. Add the rest of the water, mix, and chill.

Little tip - the flower's color WILL stain (my wooden spoon is now red) so don't use cookware that absorbs color and wear an apron or old clothes in case of splashes!