Agua de Jamaica {Hibiscus Flower Iced Tea}

This is Flor de Jamaica.  You might know it as dried hibiscus flower, but here in Mexico we just call it Jamaica.    Flor de Jamaica is mostly used to make a delicious and refreshing iced tea called Agua de Jamaica.  It's one of the most popular Aguas Frescas in Mexico and can often be found along side with Horchata and Agua de Tamarindo.  (I refer to them as the Aguas Frescas trinity.)

The very first time I tasted Agua de Jamaica was as a newlywed at a Mexican restaurant in the U.S. To be honest, I didn't care much for the taste.  It was very strong and extremely bitter.  My hubby agreed with me, but insisted that Agua de Jamaica tasted much better than what we had just had.  He also said it would be even better if we made our own, so we headed to our local Latin supermarket to purchase dried Jamaica to make our own Agua de Jamaica.

I still wasn't too convinced, but I'm a good sport and I trust my hubby.  With our newly purchased one pound bag of Jamaica, we went home, where we consulted with some of our Mexican friends and neighbors on how to prepare our Agua de Jamaica.  Every recipe our friends shared involved soaking the Jamaica in boiling water for about 30 minutes.  After that, all we had to do was let it cool, add  more water and sweeten it with some sugar and voilá...Agua de Jamaica!  Our first attempt was a huge success. Hubby was right, homemade Agua de Jamaica was absolutely delicious and it quickly became one of my favorites.  

When my suegra (mother-in-law) visited us in the U.S. for the first time, she showed me an easier way to prepare Agua de Jamaica.  Instead of simmering the flor de Jamaica on the stove, she just added a handful of dried hibiscus flowers to my sun tea jar and let it sit on the counter all morning.  By lunchtime, our Agua de Jamaica was ready.  So easy and just as delicious!  And that's how I continue to make my Agua de Jamaica all these years later.

Easy Agua de Jamaica
(Hibiscus Flower Iced Tea)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup dried jamaica flowers
• 4 quarts water (about 16 cups) 
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups sugar

Directions: 

Fill a 4-quart sun tea jar (or pitcher) with water; add the jamaica flowers.  Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours. Using a slotted spoon,  remove the Jamaica flowers.   Stir in the sugar until completely dissolved.  Refrigerate  Agua de Jamaica for 1 to 2 hours before serving.  Serve with ice.  Enjoy!!!