It's summer, it's hot, so it's not surprising to see Senegalese and Egyptians drinking hibiscus flower juice all day long. For thousands of years, the Egyptians' Karkadé (carcadet) has helped to lower body temperature, which is a good thing when midsummer temperatures flirt with 50 degrees in the shade. Let's discover this marvellous tangy beverage to drink without moderation.
Zoological Name: Hibiscus sabdariffa
English name: roselle
You can buy high quality organic hibiscus flowers here
what is Bissap or Karkadé?
Botanically speaking, the hibiscus flower comes from a herbaceous plant in the Malvaceae family. It comes in over 30,000 varieties and grows mainly in the tropics, particularly in Guinea, where it originated, hence the name Guinea sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa). It then spread to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Niger, Mauritania, southern Mali and northern Côte d'Ivoire. Bissap is also found in Egypt and neighboring Sudan. Central Africans call it karakandji, Cameroonians foléré, while Mexicans call it "Jamaica flora". In the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the hibiscus flower is known as Groseille pays.
The dried calyxes are boiled for a few minutes to produce an intense red juice (20 grams of flower to 1 to 2 liters of water). Bissap is the national drink of many tropical African countries. It is also very popular in Egypt and Sudan, where it is known as karkade.
Different names for hibiscus flower juice:
Pink tea from Abyssinia. Dableni (Malia) and djoussouma tchireye in Timbuktu, djisma tchiré in Benin, Ngai Ngai in Congo, Karkadé in Egypt and folléré in Cameroon. The name bissap comes from Senegal, the tea of the Empire.
Using leaves
Mixed with eggplant to limit the acidity of the hibiscus, it is used as a puree in Africa to accompany meat dishes.
Calyxes can also be used as a cold infusion.
Benefits of hibiscus flower infusion
It is said to have undeniable medicinal virtues, including the maintenance of a good cholesterol level, antioxidant, blood pressure reduction, prevention of certain cancers, reduction of obesity, antidepressant, urinary antiseptic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic...
It is, however, harmful to the liver if consumed in very large quantities, and it is generally recommended to drink between 500ml and 2 liters of this beverage a day. This is a very high limit, and it would be quite impossible to drink so much liquid in one day.
However, hibiscus flower infusion is not recommended for pregnant women, as it can cause menstruation.
Hibiscus can also be used as a poultice to treat oozing eczema, dermatitis and allergies.
Organic hibiscus flower juice recipes
For 2 liters of water (cost 70c euro per liter)
25 grams organic hibiscus flower
2 liters of water
50g Cannes brown powdered sugar / Honey
Options :
Orange and lemon zest
Mint leaves
Boil the organic hibiscus flowers in water for 5 minutes, adding sugar and any optional extras except mint leaves, which are added to the beverage once it has cooled completely.
Let stand 15′ and filter, bottle.
Warm if you like it that way, or chilled after a few hours in the fridge. Karkadé or Bissap is a surprisingly refreshing drink, which you can refine according to your taste (more or less sweet, with spices, etc.).
