Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea is nothing but a mixture of normal tea and powder from petals of the flower of Hibiscus sp. There are about 200 species of Hibiscus. Only the red colored flower petals are used to make this type of tea. The Hibiscus tea was first taken by the people of the ancient Nile Valley as a very nice refreshing beverage to give up the tiredness due to heat of desert. However, the Hibiscus tea was originated

from Asian countries and most of the people were aware about the health benefits of this tea. Thus, many people took it with high interest. But what is the present condition?

Hibiscus tea as a herbal medicine

Now-a-days, the Hibiscus tea has become very popular not only as a beverage but also as a herbal medicine. It is known with different name in different countries like as Red sorrel in Caribbean, Sorrel in Jamaica, Bissap in Africa and karkady in Middle East.  It has very nice health effect due to presence of Hibiscus petals. The benefits of this tea will be discussed later part. However, the Hibiscus is a tropical as well as subtropical plant under the family Malvaceae. Among the 200 species, the most widely species is Hibiscus sabdariffa. Being a tropical crop it needs warm temperature for its normal growth and development. As the sepals are the usable part, the plant needs adequate pruning for increasing flowering much. The flavor of this tea is like tart. Thus, some people may not like this flavor and may mix some additional sugar for making it palatable. This herbal tea is health friendly due to the presence of maleic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid and so more.

One can easily make Hibiscus tea at home. A simple preparation procedure is stated below-

a.     Collect some requirements prior starting the tea making process. The materials are sugar, Hibiscus dried petals, water, orange, lemon, cinnamon and ice.

b.     Boil the sufficient amount of water and add the Hibiscus flower petals of about 3 spoons.

c.      Then add cinnamon sticks as per need.

d.     Cover it with a suitable cover and let it be wet by keeping the contents for about 15 minutes.

e.      Time should be maintained properly. Otherwise the tea will be bitter in taste.

f.       Filtrate the content in a container having ice and add sugar according to your choice.

g.     Add one orange slice and one lemon wedge for making the tea garnish.

h.     Then just enjoy the Hibiscus tea as its preparation has finished.

The health benefits of taking Hibiscus tea are-

i)                   It helps in protecting the tissues from the free radicals due to the presence of antioxidants in the flower petals.

ii)                It decreases the possibility of causing heart diseases by decreasing the Cholesterol present in blood, if taken at regularly.

iii)              It is also helpful for lowering the blood pressure.

iv)              The petal of Hibiscus has sufficient vitamin C content which helps the immune system.

v)                For constipation problem, this tea is also helpful.

vi)              This tea is more active against the bacterial infection of the respiratory system.

vii)           Helps in reducing the possibility of the development of cancerous cells.

viii)         At last but not least, the Hibiscus tea plays a good role in weight loss.

As the Hibiscus tea is act as both beverage and herbal medicine having various health friendly effects, we should take it regularly to have sound daily life.