SC - Unusual beverage

[Susan Fox-Davis]

Lovely isn't it?  Really ethnic Mexican restaurants, not the toned-down "Taco
Bell" types, serve iced jamaica as a standard beverage.  If you have
encountered Celestial Seasonings' "Red Zinger" tea, Jamaica is the ingredient
that makes it red.  Unfortunately, it seems to fall outside of the SCA milieu,
fortunately, it's lovely stuff anyway and I'd choose it over iced black tea for
an SCA event.

Some interesting folk information on many herbs, including jamaica, is here:

<http://www.frontierherb.com/Frontier/HerbFest/1999Seminar/1999PanAmerica.html>



<<You can purchase a variety of red hibiscus known as Flor de Jamaica in Latino
stores. It is sold by the
package and makes a delightful hot or cold beverage tea that children love when
sweetened. I like to add
either rose water or peppermint oil to mine. With a bit of sugar, it makes for
a delightful party punch that both
children and adults can enjoy. (Adults can add their favorite spirits of rum,
gin or vodka.) The punch
stimulates the heart just enough to make for a great, happy, boisterous party.

We usually make it in five gallon lots. Leftovers can be covered and set aside
for three weeks until your party
punch becomes a sparkling red wine that you will have to consume in about seven
days unless you also want
to make red vinegar. >>

Selene


Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> Last weekend when we were exploring an oriental food store, I found and
> bought a bag of what look like dried flowers.
>
> The name on the bag is "Flor de Jamaica" and the brand is "Lopez Bros.
> & co.".  They look like some sort of very dark red/purple flower petals,
> most about an inch long and a quarter wide, rather curled. There are
> some whitish or partial white petals mixed in.
>
> The directions to use them are:
> For 3 quarts
> 1) Use 12 cups of water.
> 2) Add 1 1/2 cups of Jamaica.
> 3) Rinse then boil Jamaica until water is dark red.
> 4) Strain, then add sugar to taste.
> 5) Serve cold.
>
> And that's it. So does anyone have any idea what this stuff is? With
> the name, I would assume it is a New World item, probably first found
> on the Island of Jamaica.
>
> At least this package had some words in English text. I skipped a lot
> of other items because I had no idea how they were supposed to be used
> since there were no directions and sometimes even no text in English.
> I opened the package and while there is a "fruity" smell that I can't
> immediately identify when I taste a petal I don't get any obvious
> taste.
>
> Yes, this sounds like a Hispanic item. The company is in Mission, TX.
> The Lopez Bros. label has a guy in a big sombrero next to a cactus.
> Umm. ok. It does say "Product of Mexico". There is no ingredient list.
> Why this was in an Oriental grocery store, I'm not sure.
>
> --
> THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
> Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
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