Agua de Jamaica
194kcal0g protein0g fat50g carbs*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Nothing flagged in the ingredient list. The label is still the last word.
Restrictions
Diets
VegetarianVeganPescatarianNo porkNo alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 1 ½ cup | dried hibiscus calyces (roselle) |
| 4 cup | water (for the concentrate) |
| ½ cup | sugar |
| 8 cup | water (cold, for dilution) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 unit | lime (juice) |
| 75 g | piloncillo (chopped, in place of sugar) |
| 1 unit | cinnamon (stick, in the steep) |
| 4 sprig | mint (sprigs, to serve) |
Steps
- simmer5 mingentle simmer, coveredwater + dried hibiscus, only the four cups — brewing all the flowers in a small fraction of the water is the whole point of the concentrate route, because it lets you set strength later at the pitcher instead of guessing now; keep it at a bare simmer, since a hard rolling boil drives off the bright fruity top notes and leaves the flat, drying part behind
- infuse10 minoff the heat, coveredthe pot pulled off the burner and left covered, until the calyces sink and the liquid is opaque garnet — sinking flowers are the visual signal that extraction is done. Ten minutes is a tart, clean brew; stretching to twenty deepens it. Push much past that and you extract tannin rather than flavor, and the drink turns astringent and mouth-drying in a way sugar cannot fix
- mix2 minliquid still hot+ sugar, stirred until no grit is left on the spoon — dissolve it while the concentrate is hot, because sugar stirred into cold jamaica settles out and sits at the bottom of the pitcher. Start at half a cup; published recipes run from a quarter cup to 1.5 cups for this size batch, and that spread is genuine preference
- strain2 minfine meshthe concentrate poured off the spent calyces, which are discarded — leaving flowers in the finished pitcher means it keeps extracting in the fridge and is unrecognizably harsh by day two
- mix3 mintasting as you gostrained concentrate + cold water, then taste = agua de jamaica. Judge sweetness and strength only here, after dilution, never at the concentrate stage — hot syrupy concentrate always tastes right and always misleads. Too tart, add sugar dissolved in a splash of hot water; too strong or too sweet, add more cold water. Lime juice goes in now if you want it, after straining, where its aroma survives
- store5 minrefrigerated, glassthe pitcher chilled down and served over ice with mint. It holds five days to a week cold; use glass, since the anthocyanins that give the drink its color stain plastic permanently