This refreshing Agua de Jamaica recipe (also known as a hibiscus Mexican drink or hibiscus tea), strikes the perfect sweet balance and is perfect for hot summer days!
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What is Agua de Jamaica?
Agua fresca de jamaica is known by many names, including hibiscus water, and flor de jamaica. It’s a refreshing, sweet yet slightly tart drink that is made with 3 simple ingredients: water, dried flor de jamaica (or hibiscus in english), and sugar. Hibiscus tea or water is a super popular drink, and one you’re very likely to find at a lot of Mexican restaurants.
It’s distinguished from some other Mexican aguas frescas recipes by its distinct deep reddish purple coloring, which comes from the hibiscus leaves.
This agua de jamaica recipe is one of my favorites because it’s so easy to make, but everyone will think it took you forever 😉
Plus, you can customize this recipe by adjusting the sugar to your taste! Like it sweeter? Add the full sugar amount, or a bit more. Prefer a more tart drink? No problem, just cut the sugar in half and add more as needed to taste!
Refreshing Summer Drink
As the weather in Southern California starts to get hotter, I’ve been making slushies and aguas frescas left and right. I don’t know about you, but when I think of summer I ALWAYS picture myself with an icy cold drink in my hand.
So when I found a bag of gorgeous hibiscus during my last grocery run, I just knew I needed to make some hibiscus (jamaica) water fresca ASAP.
Below I’ve included the full recipe plus some tips for how to make a jamaica hibiscus tea that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Jamaica Drink Ingredients + Where to Buy
Agua de Jamaica (in English translated as hibiscus water) only requires 3 ingredients:
- Water
- Dried hibiscus flower (flor de jamaica in spanish)
- Sugar
This version makes a sweet large pitcher, but you can easily adjust the amount of sugar if you prefer something more tart.
You can find dried hibiscus flowers at most Mexican markets, ask someone for it, it’s not always in an obvious place (mine carries them tucked away in bags in the fruit section).
If you don’t have a Mexican market near you, you can also find them online here.
Tips For How to Make This Agua de Jamaica Recipe (Jamaica Water)
- Use a large pot, like this one to give yourself room to cook the flor de jamaica in.Â
- Get a large pitcher for serving, but don’t add ice directly to the pitcher unless you’ll be serving the whole drink right away. Instead, add ice to each individual glass – this way you don’t dilute the flavor.Â
- Use mint or limes as a garnish to make the colors stand out even more!
- Look for flowers that are soft and pliable to indicate their freshness.Â
- Be warned, hibiscus flowers can easily stain everything!Â
Agua de Jamaica
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers (33 grams by weight)
- 8 cups water (about 1900 milliliters)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (220 grams by weight)
Instructions
- In a large pot, add water, dried hibiscus flowers, and sugar.
- Stir to combine and turn heat on to high to bring to a boil.
- Once mixture boils, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Let cool and strain into a large pitcher.
- Add ice to serving glasses and pour into glasses.
- Makes eight 8 ounce servings.
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