Slow and easy~hibiscus tea

When I developed one of my most popular teas, 'Sweet Friend Blend', I was imagining something that would be good for all of my sweet friends who seem to be regularly pregnant and/ or nursing-something without caffeine, that tasted delicious and that was cooling and uplifting. I wanted a feel-good tea that would be great iced too. I added hibiscus to the blend (along with South Africa Rooibos, Raspberries, ginger and lemongrass) for it's beautiful bright red color and it's tangy flavor and only later found out, serendipitously, that this flower is known for it s association with longevity and femininity.

Medical research has recently increasingly supported what indigenous people have known for years-- hibiscus tea (made from the stamen of this tropical flowering plant) is very effective in reducing stress induced high blood pressure. Perhaps this is because hibiscus is known traditionally to balance "yang" (fast, hard, hot aggressive, masculine) with its "yin" energies (soft, tranquil, cool, night, feminine). It is the perfect antidote to a modern tension.

Here are some other ways Hibiscus is used:

~Boiled with ginger and cane sugar and served as an "agua fresca" in Mexico, where it is known as flor de Jamaica. Sweet Friend Blend makes a nice, sweet, iced "agua fresca".

~In a hair oil to prevent greying & hair loss

~Tucked behind a Tahitian woman's ear to signal weather or not she is available for marriage

~As an offering to Kali (Hindu Goddess of destruction and endings) and Lord Ganesha (Hindu God of new beginnings)

~To make Polynesian grass skirts


Photo: Wild hibiscus growing in the mountains above Cape Town, South Africa, 2007.