Blushing with cranberry-pink effervescent bubbles, these ice-cold hibiscus sparkling soda spritzers have an addictive sweet-tart flavor. Here’s your recipe for a bright, delicious and thirst-quenching non-alcoholic mocktail!
To make hibiscus spritzers, first make a strong “tea” with magenta-red hibiscus flowers. Sweeten the tea with honey, just enough to soften the flower’s tangy sharpness. Pour a shot of the bright syrup over ice and top with fizzy water. Ta-da!
Click here to PIN Hibiscus Sparkling Soda Spritzer!
You want to to prepare your hibiscus syrup ahead of time. You don’t have to, but if you have hibiscus syrup on hand, hibiscus spritzers come together in 2 minutes.
If you don’t have syrup in the fridge, no worries, simply cool the sweetened tea syrup over an ice bath. The pink syrup keeps at least a month and freezes well too. I always make a double batch and recommend you do as well.
And when it’s time for margaritas, you’ll be ready for blushing dark pink margaritas too! (Robbie makes an even simpler hibiscus spritzer cocktail–just a sqeeze of lemon and a shot of tequilla.
How to make hibiscus syrup:
- Pour boiling water over dried hibiscus flowers. Let sit 15 minutes or more, making a concentrated tea.
- Strain the bright liquid from the plumped flowers and stir in honey (or sugar.)
What type of sparkling water should I use for hibiscus spritzer mocktails?
- You can use most any carbonated water except club soda. Club soda has a slightly salty flavor due to the way it’s made.
- Zero-calorie unsweetened sparkling water with flavor—we’ve used them all. Usually what’s on sale. I tend toward lime or lemon essence–berry flavor is good too. Nowadays you can even find hibiscus flavored La Croix!
About hibiscus:
- Dried hibiscus flowers are actually the calyx centers of the flowers.
- Hibiscus is brewed and sipped all over the world. In Spanish, the flowers are known as flor de jamaica.
- All over Mexico and Mexican restaurants and taco trucks in the US, you’ll find a sweet ruby red drink called agua de Jamaica. Often these “aquas” are overly sweet. I solve that problem by mixing bubbly mineral water like Topo Chico to dilute the sweet agua de jamaica. Double the refreshing hydration!
- Hibiscus is loaded with Vitamin C and anti-oxidants. Research has shown that drinking hibiscus tea can help lower blood pressure naturally.
- Hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii.
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Where to buy dried hibiscus flowers:
- Look for flor de jamaica (ha-MIKE-a) in Latin markets. Caveat: I’ve found the flowers sold in Latin markets to be less pure, a bit gritty with small twigs in the mix. If that’s what you have, give them a quick rinse before brewing.
- Find dried hibiscus flowers at your natural foods store or online. Organic hibiscus is sold cut and sifted or whole petals. Either kind yields a delicious tea for hibiscus sparkling soda spritzers.
- Tea companies sell ready-to-brew tea bags called hibiscus. They usually have other ingredients beside hibiscus flowers. For example, Traditional Medicinals brand hibiscus tea includes blackberry and lemongrass leaves. Now Foods “Organically Hip Hibiscus” teabags are the flower only.
Now that hibiscus is on your radar:
- Must make—World’s Best Hibiscus Margaritas.
- Love kombucha? Look for hibiscus kombucha in the refrigerated case along with other kombucha sodas.
- Make your own hibiscus kombucha.
Summer party ideal– refreshing Prosecco and Elderflower Spritzers!
What else can you make with dried hibiscus flowers:
- Make hibiscus quesadillas with the “spent” flowers.
- Make cold-brew tea.
- Mix hibiscus Arnold Palmers. Brew a weak hibiscus tea (2 cups water: 2 tablespoons hibiscus flowers) Strain, sweeten to taste and and mix with an equal part of lemonade. Keep it sober or spike with vodka.
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Hibiscus Sparkling Soda Spritzers
Ingredients
For the hibiscus syrup:
- ½ cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- ¼ to ⅓ cup honey or organic cane sugar to your sweet tooth taste
For each spritzer:
- 2 to 4 tablespoons hibiscus syrup see note
- About 6 ounces sparkling water I usually use lime flavored
- Ice to fill the glass
Instructions
Make the syrup:
- Pour boiling water over the flowers and let steep 20 minutes or up to an hour. Strain, pushing on the plumped flowers to extract maximum juice. Stir the honey into the liquid and reheat just enough to dissolve the honey completely. If you want to use the syrup right away, pour it into a metal container and place in an ice bath, stirring until the syrup is nice and cold.
Make a spritzer:
- Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour 2 (or more) tablespoons of syrup over the ice. Fill the glass to the top with sparkling water. Sip and refresh!
Notes
Nutrition
This is an update of the Hibiscus Sparkling Soda Spritzer I posted here in August of 2019!
It looks lovely! · 24 May, 2024
thank you Caron! · 28 May, 2024