Hibiscus and Redcurrant Tea is a modern Fusion recipe for a classic refreshing summer drink made from hibiscus flowers and fresh or dried redcurrants. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Fusion version of: Hibiscus and Redcurrant Tea.
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I almost always have hibiscus/roselle flowers in the house, having encountered and immensely enjoyed them as a tea in the Caribbean (roselle), Senegal (bissap) and Nigeria (zobo). An infusion of the flowers makes a tart and very moreish tea. As I now regularly forage and have sourced a good redcurrant bush I have fresh redcurrants in summer and dried redcurrants in winter. I usually make this when I'm running out of hibiscus flowers and the redcurrants complement the flavour of bissap/zobo ideally. You can use this recipe to pep up the frankly weak hibiscus tea bags you find in health food stores as well. Rather than sweetening with sugar or honey I usually use the Kenyan trick with this recipe of using the skin peelings from pineapple as my sweetener
Ingredients:
300g frozen redcurrant or mixed red berries (or 60g dried redcurrants)
Pineapple trimmings (skin, cores etc)
3 heaped tbsp hibiscus loose leaf tea or five teabags (or 10 whole dried hibiscus flowers)
5-8 tbsp honey or syrup (or more, to taste)
juice of 1 lemon
chilled soda water or filtered water to dilute the tea
1 large orange, sliced, to serve
fresh mint leaves to garnish optional
Method:
Bring 1l of water to a boil. Place the hibiscus (and dried redcurrants if using) along with the pineapple trimmings in a bowl then pour over the water. Allow to cool then transfer to the refrigerator and allow to steep over night.
If using fresh or fruit fruit only add the hibiscus flowers or tea bags to the bowl and steep over night as described above. For the fresh berries, place the fresh fruit in a jar along with the honey and syrup (if using for sweetening) and lemon juice. Pour over a little boiling water then muddle the berries, cover and chill in the refrigerator over night.
The following day strain the two liquids (the muddled berries and the hibiscus infusion). Mix the two liquids together (if using fresh or frozen fruit keep the fruit residue to make desserts or as a topping for breakfast). If using dried fruit stir the lemon juice into the liquid.
Pour the combined liquids into a pitcher, taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking then add in the orange slices.
Serve over ice in highball glasses topped up with chilled soda water or spring water.
