Roselle
Also known as: hibiscus, hibiscus sabdariffa, 洛神花
The fleshy red calyx of the roselle plant. It is steeped fresh or dried to make tart, deeply colored drinks. It is widely sold and labeled as hibiscus, and it underlies beverages known as bissap, zobo, sobolo, karkadeh, sorrel, and agua de Jamaica.
Documented in
- Strawberry Hibiscus by Empress
Listed in its declared ingredients as “Hibiscus”.
How roselle is prepared
Infused hot as a tea or decocted and chilled as a sweetened juice, often with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, pineapple, citrus, or mint. It is blended into herbal teas for color and acidity and used as a base for aguas frescas. It also appears in syrups, sodas, and ferments such as kombucha and country wines.
Chalu uses Cold-Brewed Hibiscus, Wild Camellia, Strawberry and Raspberry Tea in Hibiscus Noir: a herbal tea of hibiscus, wild camellia, strawberry and raspberry, brewed cold.[4]
Service signal Works as a infusion component.
A general process that transfers soluble flavor and aroma compounds from a source material into a liquid extract.
SomethingElse (Kally) uses Hibiscus Extract in Kally Rosé Sparkler: flavour and colour drawn from hibiscus (roselle) calyces into a concentrated liquid extract.[5]
Service signal Works as a extract component.
Extracting an ingredient into a liquid or fat. Temperature and duration depend on the documented application.
Laurel in the declaration is bay leaf.[6]
Service signal Works as a infusion component.
NINO uses Jasmine, Elderflower, Hibiscus, Rose Petal, Lavender and Lemongrass Infusion in Ruby: a tea and herb infusion of jasmine, elderflower, hibiscus, rose petals, lavender and lemongrass.[7][8]
Service signal Works as a infusion component.
Other preparations
Acala uses Hibiscus in Spritz: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[11]
Acala uses Hibiscus in Winter Spiced: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[11]
Empress uses Hibiscus in Venus Rose: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[13][14]
Far & Søn Brewery uses Hibiscus in Far & Søn Hibiscus: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[15]
FREEDL uses Hibiscus in Amantè Cherry Tree: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[16]
Mindful Sparks uses Hibiscus in Noble Truth Cranberry Rose Sparkling Tea: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[17]
Prima Radice uses Hibiscus in Bitter: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.
Prima Radice uses Hibiscus in Red Aura: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.
Prima Radice uses Hibiscus in Rubra: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.
PROXIES uses Cascara, Black Malt, Hibiscus and Chicory Root Tea Blend in Big Red: a tea blend of coffee-cherry husk, black malt, hibiscus and chicory root.[18][19]
Schraml uses Hibiscus in Combuchont W/O Rosé 2025: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[20]
Schraml uses Hibiscus in Schraml Combuchont Brut Rosé 2022: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[21]
Rosella flowers.[22]
Winninger Sektmanufaktur C-Kloss uses Hibiscus in Sparkling Tea Rosé: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[23][24]
YALA Kombucha uses Hibiscus in Hakkasan Hibiscus and Lychee Kombucha: hibiscus used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[25]
In depth
West African origins
Roselle is an African plant, most likely first domesticated in the western Sudan belt of West Africa. It seems to have been valued first for its oily seeds. Growers later prized its sour leaves and swollen red calyces, which found their way into sauces, soups, and drinks. Across much of West and East Africa, the dried calyces remain a staple of open markets. Steeping them in water to draw out their color and acidity is among the oldest and most widespread ways the plant is used.[1]
Bissap, zobo, and sobolo
In West Africa the roselle drink carries different names. It is bissap in Senegal and Burkina Faso, zobo in Nigeria, and sobolo in Ghana. Although locals usually call it a juice, it is really a decoction. Washed dried calyces are boiled, frequently with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, or star anise. Pineapple peel or juice is a common addition, and sweeteners range from sugar and honey to blended dates. The strained liquid is then chilled, and sometimes finished with orange or lime slices or fresh mint. Nigerian zobo tends to use more spices and fruit than its New World descendants. Across the region it is a roadside and restaurant staple, and it is typically served cold.[2]
Karkadeh in Egypt and Sudan
Along the Nile the drink is called karkadeh. There it is as likely to be taken warm as over ice, unlike the chilled West African versions. It is a fixture of Cairo street vendors and open-air cafés. In both Egypt and Sudan, guests traditionally raise a glass of it to toast a wedding. Popular lore sometimes styles it a drink of the pharaohs, but that label is better treated as modern romance than documented history.[1]
Crossing the Atlantic: sorrel and agua de Jamaica
Enslaved Africans carried roselle and its drinking customs to the Americas, where it was likely first grown in Brazil. In the English-speaking Caribbean the plant and its drink are both called sorrel. In Jamaica, a sorrel brewed with ginger, cloves, allspice, or bay is a Christmas tradition, often poured alongside fruitcake. Some households lace it with rum, and others let it ferment lightly. From the Caribbean the drink spread into Latin America. As agua de Jamaica, or agua de flor de Jamaica, it became one of the standard aguas frescas of Mexico and Central America, and it is also drunk in Colombia and elsewhere in South America. These are cheap, chilled, lightly sweetened drinks sold from large glass jars.[1]
Red drink in African American tradition
In the United States, roselle beverages belong to a broader family of red drinks that food historians connect to West African roots. The color itself carries meaning at African American gatherings, above all at Juneteenth, the commemoration of emancipation. Today much of that role has passed to red carbonated sodas. Even so, hibiscus-based versions, influenced by the recipes of Caribbean and West African immigrants, have regained visibility in soul food restaurants and at home celebrations.[3]
Southeast Asia
Roselle reached Asia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and naturalized widely. In Thailand, where it is called krachiap, the calyces make a heavily sweetened cold drink. It is sold over ice in plastic bags outside schools and in markets. Thai drinkers sometimes mix it with a small share of Chinese tea leaves, and it is occasionally made into a wine. Similar drinks are common in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Indonesia. In Malaysia, roselle was developed as a commercial crop from the 1990s, largely to supply juice and other drink products.[3]
Europe: carcadè and herbal blends
Italy knows the drink as carcadè, a name borrowed from the Arabic karkadeh. It arrived by way of the Eritrean colony. When sanctions followed the invasion of Ethiopia in the mid-1930s, it gained ground as a domestic substitute for imported tea. Italians usually drink it hot with sugar and lemon or orange. Elsewhere in Europe, roselle is best known as a coloring and souring component of fruit and herbal tea blends, often paired with rose hips or mallow.[1]
Contemporary use
Roselle is now grown on a large scale in China and Thailand. Many tropical producers, including Sudan, Nigeria, Mexico, Egypt, Senegal, and Jamaica, grow it mainly for domestic drinking. In Australia, where the plant has naturalized, it is known as rosella and used in cordials and syrups. In the no- and low-alcohol world, its bright acidity and natural red pigment make it a favorite for iced teas, sparkling sodas, shrubs, and kombucha. It also serves as a tart, fruit-forward base for alcohol-free mixed drinks that would otherwise lean on citrus or berries.[3]
References
- [1]EncyclopediaHibiscus tea — Wikipedia↑§1↑§3↑§4↑§7
- [2]EncyclopediaZobo (drink) — Wikipedia↑§2
- [3]EncyclopediaRoselle (plant) — Wikipedia↑§5↑§6↑§8
- [4]Producerhttps://chaludrinks.com/↑prepared
- [5]Product informationKally Rosé Sparkler | Non-alcoholic Sparkling Wine Alternative↑prepared
- [6]Product informationRouge en Voiture | Alcoholvrij Rood Alternatief - Fruitslagers↑prepared↑prepared
- [7]ProducerNino Discovery Set 1 (ninodrinks.com)↑prepared
- [8]Product informationRUBY Sparkling Tea — Ausdrucksstark, Floral, 0.0% Alkohol | NINO↑prepared
- [9]Product informationSHWUNG | Or Anj | MORE Natural Wine↑prepared
- [10]Product informationVehr-mut ros-soh - SHWUNG - Glou Natural Wine↑prepared
- [11]Product informationAcala Drinks↑prepared↑prepared↑prepared↑prepared
- [12]Producerhttps://sparklingtea.co/products/sparkling-tea-lyserod/↑prepared↑prepared
- [13]ProducerWinealts (empress.no)↑prepared
- [14]Product informationVenus Rose - 330 ml - Oda↑prepared
- [15]Producerhttps://www.farsonbrewery.com/shop/p/hibiscus↑prepared↑prepared↑prepared
- [16]ProducerSparkling Tea (freedl.it)↑prepared
- [17]ProducerNoble Truth (mindful-sparks.com)↑prepared
- [18]ProducerBuild A Box 2 (drinkproxies.com)↑prepared
- [19]Product informationBig Red – Proxies↑prepared
- [20]Product informationCombuchont W/O Rosé 2025 - Combuchont↑prepared
- [21]Product informationCombuchont Schraml Brut Rosé 2022 - Combuchont↑prepared
- [22]ProducerT I N A 2 0 (tinadrinks.com)↑prepared
- [23]Product informationSektmanufaktur Kloss Sparkling Tea Rosé – Weinhandlung SUFF - Schöner Trinken↑prepared
- [24]Product informationSparkling Tea Rosé - Winninger Sektmanufaktur C•Kloss / von Canal - Falstaff↑prepared
- [25]ProducerHakkasan Hibiscus And Lychee Kombucha (yalabucha.ae)↑prepared
- [26]Product information博客來-Zestea康普茶一次喝到全口味組合 300ML*12瓶(無添加、富含益生菌)↑prepared
- [27]Product information博客來-Zestea康普茶經典紅茶組合 300ML*12瓶(無添加、富含益生菌)↑prepared