The big demand for Hibiscus tea in Uganda is driven by the crop’s extensive and beneficial health properties. Let us have a look at Ugandan Hibiscus Roselle Flower Products.
Ugandan Hibiscus Roselle flower is widely known for its red hibiscus tea and its health benefits.
What is hibiscus tea?
Hibiscus tea is a herbal tea that is made from the edible calyx of the hibiscus Roselle flower. The Roselle flower is native to Africa. Hibiscus tea is grown and consumed extensively in east and West Africa, with farmers trading and selling in markets.
Roselle hibiscus plant blossoms into funnel-shaped flowers enclosed in a quintet of petals. They come in the color ranging from red to purple.
The products of Ugandan Hibiscus Roselle Flower
Though the Roselle/hibiscus flower naturally grows in the wild, it has been domesticated in some parts of Northern Uganda as a traditional vegetable. Other farmers have adopted growing it on a medium to large scale as a business for its medicinal purposes.
Let us have a look at the products of the Ugandan Hibiscus Roselle flower.
Hibiscus Roselle powder
Many farmers and business entrepreneurs have taken on crushing the dry Hibiscus Roselle flower to make a powdered product that is sold in shops and supermarkets. This powder can be added to your tea, food, juice, smoothie, cakes and pastries.
Hibiscus Roselle soft drinks/ juice
Ugandan entrepreneurs like Regina Nakayenga have invested and are producing packed hibiscus juice called Rena Beverage Solutions. Bella wines and juices also sell a hibiscus soft drink on the Ugandan market, Bella Hibiscus Juice.
These products are competing with other soft drink brands like sodas, water and other juices. Hibiscus Roselle has a growing market in the soft drink industry due to its enormous range of health benefits. You can actually make your own hibiscus juice at home, let us learn how to next.
How to make homemade Hibiscus Roselle juice?
In this method, we shall use dry hibiscus roselle flowers to make homemade hibiscus juice.
Wash the reddish-purple flowers clean and rinse thoroughly. Boil the flowers in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the juice to separate it from the flower. Let it cool and serve with ice cubes, lemon, ginger, or mint. You can sweeten your juice with honey or sugar.
Hibiscus Roselle Tea
Roselle is highly consumed as a hibiscus tea by most people. This can be done by adding a few petals of the hibiscus Roselle flower to your daily cup of tea. Alternatively, you can use the powdered form of the Roselle flower, add the desired amount to your daily cup of tea and reap the benefits.
Hibiscus Roselle flower syrup
Hibiscus Roselle flower syrup can be added to cocktails, juices, food, BBQ, Cake, Topping, and Ice-cream, learn how to make the hibiscus syrup.
Ingredients for making Roselle flower syrup
2 cups dried roselle flowers
2 ½ cups water
2 ½ cups sugar
Procedure for making the syrup step by step
Mix the water and the sugar in a medium pot. Add the Roselle flowers. Let it boil for 20 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the Roselle flowers with a slotted spoon, and let the syrup boil for 40 minutes longer over medium heat. Stir it every once in a while to prevent it from sticking and watch that the temperature isn’t too high. Let it simmer with a light boil.
Check for the consistency, dip a spoon in it and it should lightly cover it.
Pass it through a sieve and then bottle it up, and let it cool before putting it in the refrigerator.
Now, let us take a look at the various health benefits associated with the addition of the Roselle Hibiscus flower to our daily diets;
Health benefits of Ugandan Hibiscus Roselle flower
- Provides relief from cramps and menstrual pain;
Known to help in the restoration of hormonal balance
- Anti-Inflammatory and Antibacterial Properties;
Hibiscus tea is rich in vitamin C, the essential nutrient required by our body to boost and stimulate the activity of your immune system.
- Weight Loss;
Hibiscus herbal tea is also beneficial for losing weight. If you consume food that is rich in carbohydrates, that means that it contains sugar and starch, so you are likely to gain weight.
Read about how to create a meal plan for weight loss.
Research studies have suggested that hibiscus extract lowers the absorption of starch and glucose and may help with weight loss.
- Antidepressant Properties;
Rich in antidepressant properties like flavonoids which help to calm down the nervous system.
- Protects Liver;
Antioxidant properties present in the flower help to treat liver diseases (Antioxidants help to protect your body from diseases because they neutralize the free radicals present in body tissues and cells).