These edible flowers and spices will cool you off on a warm day

Early one hot summer morning, I put the kettle on and headed to the pantry for hibiscus, the key ingredient in our summer stock item, a strong hibiscus tea (an infusion). I reached for the ruby red flower, poured some out of the jar and into a pan, and poured boiling water over them.

As the fragrant steam reached my nose that early morning, the fragrance was pleasant but I was taken aback: “This is not hibiscus. This smells like rose.” I looked down and focused my eyes apparently for the first time to see ruby red rose petals in the pan, petals that lived in a jar right next to the hibiscus.

I put more water on for hibiscus and grumbled.

As I woke up I wondered what hibiscus and rose would taste like together and, lo and behold, I found a recipe from Kiva Rose on a hibiscus, rose, and cinnamon infusion. These three ingredients combine nicely to create a whole new, refreshing flavor for summer.

The creation below is a very strong tea and, depending on how long you let it steep, it will basically be an herbal infusion. It will be strong enough that you can then dilute it with sparkling water for a beverage, milk and cream for ice cream, water and gelatin for a gelatin dessert, and more.

Hibiscus Rose Cooler Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hibiscus
• 1/2 cup rose petals
• 1 quart of water
• 1 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon to taste after tea is made)
• Your favorite sweetener

Hibiscus Rose Cooler Steps

1. Place hibiscus, rose, cinnamon, and water in a pot. Bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.
3. Turn off heat and cover for a couple of hours (or overnight) for a stronger flavor.
4. While still warm, sweeten to taste. With a strong infusion, I tend to sweeten it a bit extra knowing that I will dilute it in my uses.
5. Strain out the solids. Place the liquid in a jar in your refrigerator.

Your creation will be a very strong-flavored “tea” that you can use as a base in beverages, popsicles, ice cream, and more.

For the beverage picture above, we simply added our hibiscus blend to sparkling water. Since it was pre-sweetened, you simply add it to sparkling water like you would any syrup.