Tastes Like Kool-Aid But is Much Better

I was wondering around Granville Island Market in Vancouver looking for some cooking inspiration for recipes for my monthly recipe program. I found some interesting spices, exotic vegetables and some dried flowers. I was really intrigued by the dried flowers because of their vibrant red colour and large size. I have only made teas with more local flowers such as calendula and rose hips. These new found flowers seemed to resemble some of the properties of rose hips; mainly containing a lot of vitamin C. Further reading after I got home led me to learn that these flowers I found are also a mild diuretic and are good for people with high blood pressure, circulatory problems and digestive ailments.

The flowers are called Jamaica pronounced ha-MIKE-uh in Spanish or Hibiscus flowers. You can find them dried in speciality stores or google "jamaica hibiscus flower tea" for online shopping. They are beautiful. Here are the flowers after they came out of my tea.

The tea is easy to make, refreshing, tasty and good for you. It is sure to impress and is a must have at your next barbecue. The kids will like it too because it is fruity, tangy and sweet. Plus it it such a naturally vibrant colour; no chemicals here.

Here is the how to make iced tea:

1/2 cup dried Jamaica (Hibiscus) flowers

4 cups water

1/4 honey or agave nectar

3 cups cold water

1 lime, sliced for garnish

• In a large pot, bring to a boil, 4 cups of water and 1/2 cup Jamaica flowers. Turn off heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes.
• Stir in honey or agave until dissolved and then stir in 3 cups cold water. Taste and add more water, honey or agave if desired.
• Place in the fridge for 2-6 hours.
• Strain out flowers, pour into glasses over ice and garnish with a slice of lime.

Enjoy on the deck or the beach!