Organic Hibiscus Tea

June 2, 2011

Hibiscus & Mint Tea – Organic and homemade

Recipe by:  Michelle Blancato                        

For the tea, I put the dried flowers and one small sprig of fresh mint in a plunge pot strainer and I pour boiling hot water over them.  Use 3-5 flowers depending on the strength you like.  I like a rich fruity flavor.  The tea will be a deep cranberry color.

Let the tea set for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy it hot, or pour the tea over ice and enjoy a cool refreshing drink.

Hibiscus tea is made from the hibiscus flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa .. and the Hibiscus Tea yields health benefits.

Did you know that hibiscus herbal tea is not only delicious, but also a very healthy beverage?

According to Nile Valley Teas, studies have shown that drinking hibiscus tea can effectively lower high blood pressure and reduce high cholesterol levels in many individuals! Read an article about it in the February 1, 2009 issue of Internal Medicine News.

    http://nilevalleyherbs.com/hibiscus-tea-yields-health-benefits

In yet another instance, scientists in Taiwan reported in The Journal of the Science of Food Agriculture that hibiscus tea made from the hibiscus flower (Hibiscus sabdariffa) may help control cholesterol, and thereby reduce the risk of heart disease. Scientists stated that the extract from the hibiscus flower significantly lowered the cholesterol content in the blood serum of lab animals, and successfully prevented oxidation of low-density lipoprotein. The extract has also been used in folk medicine to treat high blood pressure and liver disorder.

According to a 2004 study published in the journal Phytomedicine (2004;11:375–82), people suffering from hypertension can lower their blood pressure significantly by drinking hibiscus tea daily. The study included seventy people - half of whom drank 16 ounces of hibiscus tea before breakfast daily or ingested 25 mg of an antihypertensive medication (captopril) twice daily. After one month, the hibiscus tea drinkers’ diastolic blood pressure was reduced at least 10 points in 79% of the participants; blood pressure in the medicated group was reduced at least ten points in some 84% of the participants - a statistically insignificant difference.

The Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients (February-March, 2005 edition) reaffirms the results above.

Besides lowering high blood pressure and high cholesterol, this healthful hibiscus beverage has several characteristics that make it much more valuable than conventional teas.

·         hibiscus and hibiscus mint tea are caffeine free

·         hibiscus tea is also rich in Vitamin C

·         hibiscus tea has a unique, delicious taste

·         hibiscus tea has a smooth, pleasant fragrance

·         hibiscus tea has a distinctive, vibrant, natural color

·         hibiscus tea is great served hot or cold

·         hibiscus tea has long been known to act as a natural body refrigerant in North Africa

I have Hibiscus trees with beautiful  flowers growing in my backyard.  I pick the closed flowers (that bloomed yesterday) and I pull the whole flower out of the leafy sepal and put it on the drying rack in the sun.  Once all the trays are filled I stack them for drying.  It gets pretty hot here in Arizona, so it usually only takes a day to dry the flowers.

With light and love…

Michelle Angelina