Agua de Jamaica
A classic Mexican agua fresca made by steeping dried hibiscus flowers into a tart, ruby-red drink. Lightly sweetened and served ice-cold.
🍽 8 servings
⏱ Prep: 5 min
🔥 Cook: 5 min
⏰ Total: 30 min
📊 Easy
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (flor de Jamaica)
- 8 cups water, divided
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
- ice, for serving
Instructions
- Place the dried hibiscus flowers in a colander and give them a quick rinse under cool running water to remove any dust or debris.
- Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the hibiscus flowers, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes.
- Pour the hibiscus mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a heat-safe pitcher. Press the flowers gently with the back of a spoon to extract the liquid, then discard the spent flowers.
- While the hibiscus concentrate is still warm, stir in the sugar until completely dissolved.
- Add the remaining 4 cups cold water and stir well.
- Taste. Jamaica should be refreshing and noticeably tart rather than syrupy-sweet. Add a little more sugar or water only if desired.
- Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
- Stir before serving and pour over plenty of ice.
Chef's Notes
The strength and tartness of dried hibiscus can vary, so use the final sugar amount as a guideline rather than an absolute. Start with less if you prefer a sharper agua de Jamaica.