Description
For many Caribbean folks, Christmas time isn’t complete without Sorrel Tea. This hibiscus flower tea gets its all-natural, vibrant red hue from the sorrel plant. It’s a feel-good, spiced tea that’s brewed with the warming goodness of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and cardamom. You’ll also love the citrus notes and ginger-rich zing that steeps with this sweet/tart, refreshing drink! One glass just isn’t enough!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups dried sorrel (hibiscus) flowers
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped ginger, pieces pounded open with a mallet
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon allspice berries
- 2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed- optional
- 1 1/2 cups demerara sugar, plus more to taste (see notes)
- grated zest or peels from 1 medium orange
- grated zest or peels from 1 small lime
- grated zest or peels & juice from 1 medium lemon
- 2 quarts water
For serving & garnishing sorrel tea- optional:
- sliced lime, mint leaves
Instructions
- Combine: In a large stockpot, combine the dried sorrel, chopped ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cardamom (if using), and sugar. Cover solids with 2 quarts water and stir all ingredients well to combine.
- Boil: Bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as the tea boils, remove from the heat. Then add in the citrus zest/peels along with the lemon juice, stir well to combine.
- Steep: Cover the pot tightly with a lid and let stand at room temperature to steep for 1 to 2 days (for deep, maximum flavor!). If you’d like to enjoy sooner, let tea steep for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Strain: Carefully strain the tea over a fine-meshed sieve and discard the tea solids. Give the tea a taste test and sweeten more to desired preference, if needed.
- Bottling sorrel tea: This recipe makes 2 quarts. I like to use glass bottles (mason jars, carafes, swing top bottles, or any other container/pitcher you have that can be fitted with an airtight lid). Carefully pour the sorrel tea into the vessel(s), leaving an inch of headspace for shaking. Close bottles and transfer into the refrigerator to chill thoroughly.
- Serve: Shake well and serve sorrel tea as-is or over ice for a refreshing beverage and garnish with sliced lime and/or mint leaves, if desired. Enjoy! Note: you can also drink this tea hot as an herbal tea.
- Store: Preserve sorrel tea, always covered with an airtight lid, in the fridge and it will keep for 1 week. Enjoy drink chilled or hot.
Notes
- To sweeten sorrel tea: I recommend Demerara sugar, brown sugar, honey, or agave nectar- sweetened to desired taste.
- Add alcohol: Feel free to flavor your sorrel with rum- like Wray & Nephew White Ovenproof Rum or Appleton Rum (for authentic Jamaican rum punch) or your rum of choice- to preference.
- Please read the blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
Keywords: sorrel, sorrel tea, hibiscus, hibiscus tea, flor de Jamaica, Bissap, jamaican sorrel, sorrel drink, hibiscus drink, jamaican rum punch