Karkade: Egyptian Hibiscus Tea

I love to drink tea, and am constantly on the prowl for new varieties. Recently I was sitting down with a colleague at Coupa Cafe and decided to ask the cashier whether Coupa offers any unusual varieties of tea. Lo and behold, I found myself with an ice cold glass of karkade. Karkade, a traditional Egyptian tea, consists of brewed hibiscus flowers and copious quantities of sugar. Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa), an ugly stepsister to the comely variety we know as Hawaii's state flower, is used for a variety of vegetable purposes including jams and teas. The appearance of the tea is very similar to that of pomegranate juice, but its flavor is much less tart (due to all the sugar). I have found that foods and beverages with a deep red color seem to have a correlation with high antioxidant content (e.g. cranberries, pomegranate, red wine), so my intuition told me that this tea, like most others, would have those properties. Some quick research on Google confirmed that indeed, the hibiscus flower contains antioxidant chemicals such as flavonoids, polyphenolics, and anthocyanins which may prevent atherosclerosis. Next time you're at Coupa or in Northern Africa, give karkade a try!

Comments

[Megan]

Glad to see someone enjoys our tea! May I possibly post your great description in the cafe at some point?