Orange Hibiscus Punch

I made a Senegalese themed dinner today (I'll post more on that soon), in which I included a variation of a popular Senegalese drink called Jus de Bissap.

Jus de Bissap is made by infusing hibiscus flowers into water, then adding sweetener and various flavorings. It's very similar to the Caribbean drink Sorrel, but instead of adding warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, allspice, etc., Jus de Bissap is usually enhanced with fruit juices like pineapple, orange, lemon, as well as other flavors like mint, ginger, and vanilla.

Similar hibiscus-based drinks (which are high in vitamin C and other antioxidants by the way), are popular all throughout western and northern Africa.

Depending on where you live, you will find the dried herb (Hibiscus sabdariffa) needed for Jus de Bissap under different names: dried hibiscus, sorrel, roselle, hibiscus tea, karkade...all of these will work. The herb is available in health food stores, caribbean, and asian markets.

Today, I decided to keep it simple and just add a little orange juice and a hint of mint. I thought these flavors would best compliment the meal I made, which had alot of tangy citrus flavor.

This is a very easy drink to prepare...it's basically an herbal iced tea. First, you start off by steeping the herbs into a concentrated liquid... then this can be diluted with either plain water or soda :o)

Orange Hibiscus Punch
makes 2 1/2 quarts


2 cups dried hibiscus / sorrel
a few sprigs of fresh mint
1 - 1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
5 cups water

additional water / soda water / gingerale, depending


Making the concentrate:
Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a large pot. As soon as it reaches a boil, take the pot off of the heat, add the dried hibiscus and mint sprigs and cover.



Let the herbs steep for at least an hour, but the longer the better. You'll be left with a very rich, wine colored infusion (this really stains, so be careful handling it). Strain the infusion into a pitcher, pressing out as much extract from the flowers as you can, then stir in the sugar and orange juice.

Now you have the concentrate for the punch.

At this point, you can stir in 4 cups of cold water and chill the whole thing...
or
If you'd like a fizzy version: keep it chilled as a concentrate, then top off individual servings with seltzer water or gingerale...

Enjoy!
:o)