What Part Of A Hibiscus Plant Is Edible
All parts of Hibiscus sabdariffa are edible: calyxes, leaves, and flowers.
- The calyxes are the ingredient used to make Hibiscus tea, a tangy Vitamin C-rich delight. Theyre also used to make sauces, jams, and other treats.
- The large green leaves pack a tangy punch and can also be used to make tea.
- The branches are covered with colorful yellow flowers. Once pollinated and mature, the flowers form ripe calyxes, with a seed pod inside. While these flowers are a bit smaller than the common Hibiscus varieties used by landscapers, the fact that they form a delightful edible fruit/calyx more than makes up for their size deficiency relative to hibiscus varieties bred purely for show.
A handful of hibiscus calyxes.
Where Do I Buy Hibiscus Tea
A while ago I posted about the benefits of hibiscus tea for lowering blood pressure. Some readers were asking where to buy hibiscus tea to add to their DASH diet plan. It is available at health foods stores, Whole Foods, and other high-end supermarkets. But it is quite expensive for some people to shop there not to mention, there are no customer reviews to help you choose.
I will show you other ways to buy hibiscus tea at a reasonable price.
Where To Buy Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus has become more and more popular over the years, adding its particular flavor to different tea blends. But not all tea is created equal. In order to use the best of any herb or tea, you want to find quality loose-leaf tea.
After learning about the beauty of hibiscus, you may be wondering where to buy hibiscus tea.
Plum Deluxe has you covered. We carry Just Hibiscus tea, which is organic, fair trade hibiscus calyces. We also carry a wide variety of hand-crafted blends containing hibiscus.
Easy to Be green tea is blueberry and hibiscus blended with sencha green tea and green rooibos. This smooth, fruity tea is good both iced and hot, with just a little caffeine kick from the green tea.
A great herbal blend is our Happy Hour blend which combines lime with the hibiscus, a perfect pairing. This one is particularly good for cold brewing and making cocktails.
Another great herbal blend and a good blend for sleepy time tea is our Tranquil Dreams herbal tea. This blend tastes of citrus and chamomile, blending tart hibiscus, orange peel, and rose hips with sweet spearmint, lemongrass, and chamomile. Tranquil Dreams is great hot or cold and has no caffeine which makes it a great calming drink all day long and before bed.
If you need a tea that will give you more pep in your step, try our Raspberry Lemon mate blend. A blend of green mate tea with raspberry, lemon, and hibiscus provides a light flavor with a calm caffeine boost.
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Friendship Organics Hibiscus Tea
Friendship Organics Hibiscus Tea is another very good bagged tea. It is a very nice tea that is easy to drink and has all the characteristics of a great hibiscus tea.
It is 100% USDA certified Organic and it is also Fair Trade Certified. This means the people actually producing the tea arent getting a raw deal from the mega-corporations.
This is a bagged tea, which sometimes means it has a little less flavor in a lesser brand. Not the case for Friendship Organics, however.
The Taste And Aroma
There is no diluted flavor here. This is a fantastically bold hibiscus tea despite being bagged.
The fruity notes are most pronounced with the floral flavor taking a slight back seat in the tea.
The aroma of a fresh bag has those floral notes in abundance, but like most hibiscus, they are lost a little in the steeping process.
The Perfect Cup
Steeping is a breeze with your premeasured bags. Just drop them in the water cover and you are off.
Friendship Organics Hibiscus Tea Steeping instructions
- The Steep Temperature Should Be 205°F
- The Time Is around 4 minutes for me
- And Of course, One Bag Does The trick
The Finish
It goes without saying that every tea on this list is very good. We only had 10 slots and everyone deserves to be here.
But there is a hierarchy even on this list. And this hibiscus tea is one that definitely rises to the top. Or very close to it.
What Is Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus is a flowering plant from the mallow family, found in tropical climates around the world. The flower, and sometimes its leaves, are dried out to use for tea.
People have been drinking hibiscus tea for centuries for its beneficial properties.
When steeped, the water becomes a beautiful, rich, deep red and has a refreshing, tart flavour.
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Is Hibiscus Tea Safe During Pregnancy
It is not recommended to drink hibiscus tea during pregnancy because it can increase the chance of a miscarriage by inducing your uterus to begin contracting.
I hope that this article helped you with finding the kind of hibiscus tea products that you were looking for. Please post a comment below and share your opinion about the best hibiscus tea brands and products.
Here are a few more articles that you might find interesting:
The Tao Of Tea Hibiscus Ginger Tea
- Amount: 3 oz
- Type: organic loose leaf hibiscus tea blend
The Tao of Tea is a company based in Portland, Oregon, and offers a selection of specialty teas. Their organic and fair trade certified products are always made with fresh ingredients.
This blend is a mix of organic hibiscus flower petals and dried ginger. These two ingredients are some of the healthiest you can find.
The sweet floral taste of hibiscus and spicy ginger flavor creates a nice combination.
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Davidsons Hibiscus Flower Tea
This entry on our list comes courtesy of Davidsons Tea. Their Hibiscus flower tea is a bagged tea and more a mainstream packaging that most shoppers will find comforting.
They come in 100 count boxes and are fairly inexpensive as far as hibiscus teas go. Their flavor is still good, however.
Davidsons Hibiscus Flower Tea makes our list on merit and not on a cheaper more familiar alternative. This is good hibiscus tea. Make no mistake.
It simply adds a convenience that is often not found on some of the more obscure herbal teas.
You can find Davidsons Hibiscus Flower Tea at Amazon. Give it a try I think you will enjoy it.
The Taste And Aroma
The taste of this hibiscus tea has all the familiar notes that you would expect from a good tea.
The fruitiness and slightly sweet floral notes. The tanginess is present as well. But they are a little more subtle than some of the other entries on our list.
Just slightly less potent is the way I would describe it. Still delicious and possibly more desirable to someone new to herbal teas and hibiscus in general.
Some of the loose leaf brands can be a bit overwhelming for someone new to this tea.
Still a very good tea, however.
Suggested Steeping Instructions
This tea is bagged so steeping is a snap. It also seems to be a little more resilient than some of the loose leaf teas.
That means you can miss your time and temperature a little bit and still get a good cup of tea.
Steeping Suggestion
The Finish
The Republic Of Tea Natural Hibiscus Superflower Tea
- Amount: 36 tea bags
- Type: organic hibiscus blend in tea bags
The Republic of Tea is one of my favorite tea brands that offers a great variety of teas, herbs, and bottled ice-teas.
The Natural Hibiscus Superflower Tea comes in a nice airtight tin that contains 36 unbleached and stringless tea bags. The ingredients of this blend are hibiscus flower, sweet blackberry leaves, and stevia leaves.
This is a super healthy blend with a sweet floral taste.
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Starwest Botanicals Hibiscus Flowers Tea
This hibiscus comes to us from Egypt. Starwest Botanicals is a herbalist website that has some teas available. You can find it directly from the Starwest Botanicals website, check its price here.
The loose-leaf flowers look great and the overall tea is very high quality. This focus on quality comes through in the taste and aroma as well.
The Taste And Aroma
This is a very good-tasting hibiscus tea. It is robust and fruity. And pretty strong compared to some of the others on this list.
However, the strength of a given tea can change depending on a few factors. Like how long you steep it or other conditions. So it might be an outlier.
But I found the tart and tangy flavor note to be quite pronounced in this tea. The cranberry flavor that hibiscus is often compared to was out in full force for the cup of Starwest Botanicals Hibiscus Flowers Tea I used for this list.
It was a wonderful drinking experience.
Steeping Instructions
These are just a suggested starting point for your steeping pleasure.
- 205°F Steep Temperature
- 5 minute Steep Time
- 2 Teaspoons of flowers
Nothing fancy. Water should be just under boiling, let it sit for a half minute or so. Then steep covered for the allotted time.
The Finish
One of the best loose-leaf hibiscus teas on this list. I dont rate and rank the teas in these lists. I tend to save that for each individual review.
Although I might add a comparison table at some point just for quick reference.
Hibiscus And High Blood Pressure
From Wikipedia:A study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension has shown that drinking hibiscus tea can reduce high blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes. The study results showed the average systolic blood pressure for those drinking hibiscus tea decreased from 134.8 mmHg at the beginning of the study to 112.7 mmHg at the end of the study, one month later. This is consistent with its supposed role as a diuretic.
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Of The Best Hibiscus Tea Brands To Try Right Now
*This Article May Contain Affiliate Links* See our Affiliate Disclosure for more Info
Hibiscus tea holds a special place in my heart. I tend to find myself drinking mostly real tea. Black, Green, etc.
And only occasionally drinking an herbal infusion. Most of the time I drink the herbal teas as part of a review or list like this one. If I am the one doing the review anyway.
But.
Hibiscus is one of the exceptions to the rule. It is a wonderfully sweet and tangy infusion that brings a fruity and flowery taste experience to the proceedings.
It truly is wonderful. If you have not tried it I would highly recommend it.
Buddha Teas Organic Hibiscus Tea is probably my favorite but everything on our list is worthy of your time.
Not everyone will enjoy hibiscus tea, but I urge everyone to give it a try at least.
Now lets get on to 10 of the best hibiscus teas for you to try.
What To Look For When Buying A Hibiscus Tea
This will be a very quick little buyer guide for you. I wanted to put it near the end so it wasnt in the way if you already know what to look for.
The tough thing about buying loose-leaf tea over the internet is that you can really see what the leaves look like until you get them home.
Dont be afraid to send it back if it doesnt look right. The hibiscus flowers should be dried but not broken into pieces.
Some will be of course but the majority should still be intact. You dont want flakes and pieces. Also, there should be a minimal amount of stems in the mix.
The flowers in the bag should have a strong floral smell. some of this will carry over to the tea but it is common for the floral notes to subside a little bit once steeped.
The taste will vary from brand to brand but you want a fruity, tart, and tangy flavor with a little floral note.
There should be a slight natural sweetness and a clean finish with no bitterness and a minimal aftertaste.
Thats about it when it comes to this herbal tea. It is pretty straight forward really. Once you buy a couple of bags youll know exactly what you like and what to look for.
Youll be an expert in no time.
Recommended Reading: Boba Tea Dunkin
How To Use Hibiscus
Because of its demulcent properties and tart flavor, hibiscus forward teas are often best cold brewed. This captures the best of the cooling and moistening benefits while not getting too tart a flavor. Some teas, however, keep hibiscus as a more subtle supporting flavor.
Either way, a hot brew is perfectly acceptable and will bring out more of a cranberry flavor to the tea. Whether you choose to brew your hibiscus hot or cold, you dont want to add any milk to your cup. The acidity in hibiscus causes milk to curdle.
Since you can grab a bag of Just Hibiscus, you can try your hand at blending your own teas! Check out our line of single ingredient teas which includes Just Rosehips, Just Elderberries, Just Elderflower, and Just Ginger for more blending ingredients.
Try using a simple green tea like our Hope Blend, a blend of black and green with citrus notes in our Kitchen Table blend, or a basic black tea like our Fog Cutter Irish Breakfast tea as a base tea. If you want to try blending with more of a flavored tea, hibiscus would pair well with any fruity blend.
Hibiscus is great for tea, tropical drinks, and cocktails, but it can also be used to make food! This vanilla-hibiscus cake soaks a vanilla cake with homemade hibiscus liqueur. This hibiscus smoothie is another great way to use hibiscus in your mealtime.
Ready to get started? Check out our hibiscus teas and pick your favorite. Youll fall in love with its delightfully sweet and tangy flavor.
How To Prepare Hibiscus Tea
Preparing hibiscus tea is done in pretty much the same way as brewing any tea. Use a clean teapot and add two or more teaspoons of the dried hibiscus flowers to the pot. Bring water to boil and add to the teapot. Allow the tea to stand and brew for around five minutes. As hibiscus contains no caffeine, you can add a teabag of traditional tea to the pot if you are looking to get a burst of energy. When ready to pour the tea, use a tea strainer to separate the leaves from the brew. You can sweeten the tea with your preferred sweetener . For extra flavour you can choose to garnish the tea with a complementary flavour such as mint, cinnamon or even a lime wedge.To prepare iced tea is a simple matter of adding the dried hibiscus and any garnishes you prefer to a pitcher of water and refrigerating for about 12 hours. Cold water takes a long time to absorb the flavour of the tea but after 12 hours it will have taken on a full reddish colour and the tart flavour of hibiscus. It can be served over ice and sweetened to taste.
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Organic Loose Leaf Hibiscus Tea
When you buy loose leaf hibiscus tea, you can buy it in bulk and you can also easily brew tea for a larger group of people with a kettle or a french press. You can also make your own herbal tea blend by mixing the dried hibiscus flowers with other herbs.
I have come across a disturbing fact that, when buying loose leaf hibiscus tea, people sometimes find animal feces mixed with their product. This can be very disgusting and unhygienic.
The companies that are making hibiscus tea should have strict quality control to detect if there is anything that doesnt belong within the product.
Next, I will introduce the brand of loose leaf hibiscus, which offers a product that goes through strict quality control, and in my opinion, has the highest and most consistent quality.
What Does Hibiscus Tea Taste Like
The first thing youll notice about Buddha Teas Hibiscus Tea is its intense color, reminding one of garnets, or perhaps a glass of Côte-du-Rhône wine. This tea, however, is well known as iced tea, and regularly served throughout warm summer months. Often served sweetened, as the tartness lends itself to such additions, it can also be enjoyed naked.
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Us Wellness Hibiscus Tea
Another very good hibiscus tea from the Nile region of Egypt. This is a 100% organic full flower hibiscus tea.
This tea is 100% USDA Certified Organic so you can buy and drink with confidence that you are getting exactly what you paid for.
The tea itself is a good example of Egyptian hibiscus. The flowers are well preserved and steep properly.
Overall US Wellness has done a nice job of getting these wonderful flowers to us in a timely manner, making for a fresh cup of tea.
The Taste And Aroma
This is a pretty standard hibiscus in terms of its flavor. It is great, dont get me wrong. Just a little behind Feel Good Organics Hibiscus Tea.
But then again most things do fall a little short of that fantastic tea brand. The taste is familiar fruity and tart.
The natural sweetness cuts through some of the tanginess and there is a floral note that I think dissipates a little when you steep the tea.
Or at least it is not as pronounced as it is when you smell the flowers in the bag.
Steeping Instructions
There are only slight variations for steeping the teas on this list. And I know that they can look so similar that some might question why I dont just put a catch-all for all the steeping instructions.
I just think it is important to show even the slightest variations that the producer recommends so you have all the information available to you.
U.S. Wellness Hibiscus Tea Steeping Instructions
The Finish