Cranberry-pink effervescent bubbles blushing with tart lemony flavor, these ice-cold hibiscus sparkling soda spritzers are about to become your favorite mocktails, hands down. For the best thirst quencher ever, look no further!
You start with a strong tea of dried magenta-red hibiscus flowers. (To be more exact, the dried calyx centers of the 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!
It’s a good idea to prepare your hibiscus syrup ahead of time. The syrup keeps at least a month and freezes well too. I always make a double batch and recommend you do as well. In a hurry? Cool the sweetened tea syrup in an ice bath.
With hibiscus syrup on hand, it’s 3-minute easy to serve up refreshing hibiscus sparkling soda spritzers. And, if and when it’s time for margaritas, you’ll be ready for blushing dark pink margaritas too! (Robbie makes an even simpler cocktail–he just adds a sqeeze of lemon and a shot of tequilla to his hibiscus spritzer.)
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.)
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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.
About hibiscus:
- Hibiscus is brewed and sipped all over the world. In Spanish, the flowers are known as flor de Jamaica and just about everywhere in Mexico you’ll can order a sweet ruby red drink called agua de Jamaica.
- Hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii.
- Hibiscus is loaded with Vitamin C and anti-oxidants. Research has shown that drinking hibiscus tea can help lower blood pressure naturally.
What else can you make with dried hibiscus flowers:
- Make cold-brew tea.
- Mix hibiscus Arnold Palmers. Brew a weak tea (2 cups water: 2 tablespoons hibiscus flowers) Strain, sweeten to taste and and mix with an equal part of lemonade. Spike with vodka or keep it sober.
- Make hibiscus quesadillas with the spent flowers.
Now that hibiscus is on your radar:
- World’s Best Hibiscus Margaritas.
- Hibiscus Kombucha. Homemade or purchased.
- Hard Kombucha. It’s delicious. 100 calories and 4.5% alcohol.
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.
You’ll also want to try this refreshing Prosecco and Elderflower Spritzer.
Make it a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and pour yourself an ice-cold refreshment. You deserve it!
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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!
