Hibiscus juice (bissap juice)

                                                                                         Receta en español

The drink that I bring today is very typical in Burkina Faso.

Hibiscus juice is also very famous in other West African countries and Egypt. Hibiscus juice is made from dried hibiscus flowers, it is a tea , but we know it as a juice in these countries.

Hibiscus are known in Senegal and Guinea as bissap , in Mali , Ivory Coast and Burkina as Bilenni , as Foléré in Cameroon ,in Egypt is known as the drink of the pharaohs , also known as Abyssinia or Karkadé rose .

It is a healthy juice, has a lot of vitamin C ,  antioxidants , it is good for digestions , helps to lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. It is also very tasty. !!

ingredients:

• 125 grams of dried hibiscus flowers .
• 100 grams of sugar.
• 2 liters of water.
• 1 packet of sugar flavoured with vanilla.
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water.
• 1 tablespoon of mint.
• a pinch of nutmeg.

method:

1- Wash the flowers in fresh water.

2-   Heat the water to boil , when it reaches the boiling point add the flowers and cook for 20 minutes, the water will quickly turn red .

3-   Turn off the heat and let cool , then strain the liquid and pour it in a jar where you add the remaining ingredients . Stir well and put it in the fridge for at least four hours because you need to drink it very fresh . You can serve it with ice cubes. It is super- refreshing for summer!!

Where to buy the ingredients:

Hibiscus flowers can be found in health food stores , but there they are sold cut in pieces and more expensive than if you buy them in a shop of African products . I bought them at Lavapiés:  Street Miguel Servet 5, in Madrid.
It is a bag with 125 grams of dried flowers :



Here you can see where to buy orange blossom wáter. I found Fresh mint  in a butcher shop in one of the Arab shops in the street Antonio Calvo , around the mosque of Madrid.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

My comments to the recipe
I was very surprised by the taste of this juice, it is very tasty , the flowers are acid but the added sugar turns this juice into a sweet and very refreshing beverage for the summer. My juice was very concentrated , so I guess that with a lower concentration of flowers or with more water you can get also a good juice .
It is so healthy and tasty that you cannot miss it !!!





Burkina Faso