A caffeine-free hibiscus and berry infusion from Kenya, in a gift tin.
Hibiscus, and why it is so red
The deep crimson is not colouring. Hibiscus calyces — the fleshy part of the flower left after the petals drop — are packed with anthocyanins, the same class of pigments that make blueberries blue and red cabbage red. They are among the strongest natural colourants there is, which is why a hibiscus infusion stains a cup and why a single spoonful colours a whole pot.
Anthocyanins also change colour with acidity, so a squeeze of lemon shifts the brew towards a brighter, clearer red. It is worth doing once just to watch.
What it tastes like
Genuinely sour — hibiscus is one of the most acidic things you can put in a cup, closer to cranberry than to a flower. That tartness is the point, and it is why hibiscus is drunk cold across half the world: as karkade in Egypt and Sudan, agua de jamaica in Mexico, bissap in West Africa. It makes an outstanding iced drink and a merely decent hot one.
The berries round it out and add sweetness without sugar being added.
Caffeine-free, which is the practical point
There is no Camellia sinensis in it — strictly it is a tisane rather than a tea — so there is no caffeine at all. That makes it a genuine evening drink, and one of the few that is neither bland nor herbal-medicinal.
Brewing
Boiling water, five minutes or more. Herbal infusions need heat and time, and unlike real tea they do not turn bitter from a long steep — leave it as long as you like.
Iced: brew double strength, cool, and serve over plenty of ice with lemon and mint. Better than almost anything bottled, and with no sugar unless you add it.
JusTea
The Bain family from Canada partnered with the Katah family and the Nandi Hills community to build Kenya's first small-scale farmer-owned artisanal tea factory. Verified by the Fair Trade Federation.
One note: hibiscus is acidic enough to be worth rinsing your mouth with water after drinking it regularly, as you would with any acidic drink.