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hibiscus tea (karkade') can i use my own flowers?

post #1 of 4
7/20/08 at 8:22am
Thread Starter 
I have some hibiscus plants on my terrace and the flowers are beautiful. I often make iced tea with hibiscus tea (karkade') bought commercially in tea bags put out by pompadour. Hot, i only like black tea with milk, but i find for iced tea its slightly tart flavor and beautiful bright ruby color is really thirstquenching and also appealing to look at. Can i make tea with the flower of my own plants? Is there a special type of hibiscus to use? are any of the strains of hibiscus toxic? also, is the flower edible (like to decorate a desert or something)?
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post #2 of 4
7/20/08 at 8:40am
I don't think there are any toxic hibiscus.....I think the best one for tea
is called rosa or roselle...not sure.....we make aqua de jamaica.....chilled
tea sweetened with honey or sugar.......you will get better results by drying
the flowers though.....
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post #3 of 4
7/21/08 at 5:45am

hibiscus

If you want to use the flowers for other purposes you can. In Mexico, for some meat dishes they are used as part of the seasonings. Fried, they taste a bit crispy and tart. quite nice actually. Look for some recipes.

saludos, Karen
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post #4 of 4
7/21/08 at 2:12pm
Thread Starter 
thanks, that's interesting. They're so pretty, i hate to eat them but they close up and i imagine are still useable for tea, as well as seasoning.
Yeah, i put sugar in the iced tea and it's really pleasant.
thanks
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