How To Make Roselle Tea: Hot, Iced, and Spiced Jenny Graham, November 12, 2023November 12, 2023 Perhaps you’ve heard of the roselle plant and wondered how to make roselle tea. The list of health benefits of roselle tea is pretty impressive, making it the perfect addition to your cabinet full of teas or home apothecary. How to Make Roselle Tea This hibiscus drink with a tart flavor, is made from the calyxes of the roselle plant. It can be made hot, iced, and even spiced. Learn how to make roselle tea with just some boiling water and dried hibiscus flowers or calyxes, with these hibiscus tea recipe ideas. Jump To How to Make Roselle Tea What is the Roselle Plant? Roselle is a hibiscus plant that is known for is vibrant red calyxes, which are used to make herbal tea, often called hibiscus tea or sorrel in different regions. These tropical plants produce a calyx, which is the outer part of the flower that is typically dried for tea. Making Hibiscus Drink from the Roselle Plant This roselle tea recipe can be made several different ways but all start with the basic roselle tea recipe. Learn how to make roselle tea then find your favorite variations to make. Ingredients to Make Roselle Tea Dried Hibiscus Flowers (calyxes) or Use Fresh Flowers Boiling Water Optional Ingredients to Make Roselle Tea Lemon Juice Fresh Ginger Lime Juice Honey (or Sweetener of Your Choice) Whole Cloves Cinnamon Sticks Any Other Herbs You Enjoy Kitchen Supplies Tea Kettle for Boiling Water Mason Jar or Tea Cup Strainer How to Make Roselle Tea Making this hibiscus drink from fresh or dried hibiscus flowers, or calyxes, is easy. Simply add the dried flowers or fresh calyxes to boiling water. Let them steep in the water for several minutes. Pour the roselle tea through a strainer to remove the calyxes. You can then add your sweetener of choice and enjoy it hot. How to Make Roselle Tea, Iced Roselle made into an iced tea is perfect for a hot day. Simply brew it hot, add your sweetener of choice and pour it over ice. Add a little bit of lemon juice to make it into an iced roselle lemonade. Tips to Make Roselle Tea If using whole, fresh calyxes, remove the hard, center core of the calyx, using only the petals. If you don’t have access to your own fresh flowers, you can buy dried hibiscus flowers online, or you may even come across them at markets in the south. More Roselle Tea Recipes There are so many ingredients that you can add to roselle tea for a little variation. I can honestly say that I haven’t had a roselle tea that wasn’t amazing. Hot, iced, or spiced. This tart herbal tea is a must have. Just add your ingredients to your roselle and follow the same steeping process. Variations of the Hibiscus Drink Fizzy: Enjoy your roselle iced tea, and sweetener of your choice, with a slash of carbonated water, for a fizzy, iced Jamaican tea Spicy: Add 1-2 slices of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, a couple whole cloves, and a pinch of black pepper and drink as a hot roselle tea. You could even kick it up a notch and add a splash of your favorite whiskey for new way to do a hot, spicy roselle toddy. That’ll keep you nice and warm this winter and boost your immune system at the same time. Sweeten It Up With Honey: For a simple, warm drink with good health benefits, just add some local honey. This is a great alternative when you have a sore throat and need immune system support and extra vitamin c. Add Some Ginger: Ginger is a great addition to your roselle tea to further boost your immune system with its high antioxidants. Roselle ginger tea will also be incredibly soothing for any digestive issues, nausea, or menstrual cramps. Make it Zingy With Lemon: The tart flavor of lemon goes perfectly with the tart flavor of roselle. Not only is this combination tasty over ice but this is also great as a hot tea, helping to relieve cold and flu symptoms while boosting your immune system. Boost Your Immune System With Elderberry: Try steeping your roselle with some elderberry. The health benefits of this combination are about as good as it gets. Fight Inflammation & Lower Blood Pressure by brewing Roselle with Goldenrod. This combination is also great for fighting urinary tract infections and kidney stones. Health Benefits & Medicinal Properties of Roselle Tea Control High Blood Pressure Immune System Support with Antioxidants and Vitamin C Cancer Prevention by Fighting Free Radicals Caffeine Free Cardiovascular Support Aids in Weight Loss Relieves Menstrual Cramps Natural Anti Histamine Combat Cough, Cold, Flu, and Sore Throat Digestive Support of All Kinds, Including Morning Sickness Prevent Constipation Where Does the Roselle Plant Grow? You will often find the roselle plant growing in sub-tropical and tropical climates. In the United States you’ll find it growing across the south in Florida, Texas and California. Around the globe you will find roselle growing in Africa, Asia, Middle East, South America, Caribbean, and Central America. Roselle thrives in full sun in warm, tropical climates. It prefers well drained, sandy soil but will grow well an any well drained soil. You can easily grow your own hibiscus trees or bushes, to harvest your own roselle to make this Jamaican Sorrel drink. How Do You Grow Roselle? Roselle can be grown in any tropical, sub-tropical, or warm climate. It thrives in the heat and lower quality sandy soil, making it a favorite of many Florida gardeners. It is one of my staple crops that I grow every year. I prefer to direct sow roselle seeds in full sun, after the danger of frost has past. Keep the soil moist. Roselle is slow to start but once started it is a low maintenance tropical plant that requires little care. Calyxes set in heavily in the late summer heat. How Do You Harvest Roselle? Harvesting roselle is easy. The calyxes are ready to harvest after the flower falls off when the calyxes are big and plump. Use a pair of pruners to cut the calyxes off at the base of the stem. Come along and harvest roselle and goldenrod with me. Harvest before they dry out unless you are saving seed pods. If that’s the case, I let them dry out on the plant before harvesting. The seed pods are in the hard, inner core of the calyxes. How to Preserve Roselle? Preserving roselle is easy, as they can be dried out in the sun, ran through a dehydrator, or freeze dried. Once they are thoroughly dried you can keep them in any airtight container, or mason jar. Storing Roselle Tea If brewing a big batch of roselle tea, it can be stored in the refrigerator, after straining the calyxes out, just as you would store any iced tea. What Does Roselle Tea Taste Like? The calyx of the roselle plant has a unique taste and tart flavor that is very similar to cranberry. Other Uses for Roselle or Hibiscus Flowers When growing your own Roselle, you will find that you have an abundance of calyxes. So what are you going to do with all those calyxes anyways? You are in luck, Roselle can be used many different ways. Ferment the Hibiscus Petals in a Jar of Honey Want to make a jar of honey even more amazing? Take fresh roselle calyxes, crush them up, and add them to a jar of honey. Let them ferment in the jar of honey for 7-10 days, then strain them out. Adding the roselle to the honey will give the sweet honey a cranberry flavor and make it the most beautiful color. Make Roselle Wine Yes, you can even make wine with Roselle. You just have to be patient as making wine is a long process. The finished Roselle wine is worth the wait though. It finishes as a sweet, light, refreshing red wine. Use Roselle as a Cranberry Substitute Since Roselle has a unique taste that is very similar to cranberry, it can be used a cranberry substitute. It works well in any dish that calls for cranberries. Add Fresh to Salads Roselle calyxes make a great addition to a salad. Just break apart the calyxes and top your favorite salad with them. Don’t forget about those leaves on the Roselle plant. They are edible as well and also pack a nice cranberry flavor. Add it to Fire Cider If you have an abundance of calyxes, which are full of antioxidants and vitamin c, you can crush them up and add them as an ingredient in immune boosting fire cider. As a Natural Dye Have a fun tie-dye project in mind? Follow the same steeping process if you were going to make a tea. The more calyxes you use the darker the dye will be. Skin Care Since roselle is extremely high in antioxidants, it makes a great addition to skin care products. You can use it in your favorite hot or cold process homemade soap recipe for added skin health benefits. It can also be added to witch hazel or rose hip oil to be used as a toner or moisturizer. Other Names for Roselle Hibiscus sabdariffa, is the scientific name for Roselle. It is most commonly called roselle in most English speaking regions. While some people, such as Caribbean folks, call it the Sorrel plant. You may also hear Roselle called Jamaica Flower, Cranberry Hibiscus, or Florida Cranberry. Roselle has just as many names as it does uses. Find your favorite way to make Roselle tea today! You may also enjoy reading: Roselle Recipes & Other Easy Ways to Use Roselle Happy Homesteading & Tea Making, Jenny @ The GrahamStead Jenny and her family have been homesteading for over 20 years. They are currently farming on their 10 acre Florida farm, that they built from the ground up, 8 years ago, growing 100% of their meat and a lot of their vegetables. From their small herd of Aberdeen Angus Cattle, Pastured Poultry, Sheep, and seasonal pigs, they are able to raise enough meat for the family while selling extra to the community. All the while, striving to butcher at home, as much as possible, and use the bits and pieces of their harvest by preserving food, making bone broth, and (Jenny’s favorite) tanning all kinds of hides! Homestead Kitchen Homesteading