Very Berry Hibiscus Cooler

Hola Amigos! Almost the weekend..wow...can't believe how fast this week is going by! Good! the faster it goes the sooner we get to have nice afternoons in the yard, delicious brunch dates with family and friends and fun outdoor activities.
Speaking of Brunch with family and friends...this drink or cooler would be PERFECT for such occasion.
Where I'm from we have "Saril" (Sorrel, Hibiscus or Agua de Jamaica) mainly around Christmas time since it's when our summer season begins and all through the first months of the year when this little shrub is in full bloom  and we pick it's flowers right from our backyard's plants and  spend a couple of hours being careful not to get one of the prickly transparent thorns of the seed pod in our fingers! Ouch...those tiny little things are similar to the ones you find in cacti flowers!!!

Note : The hibiscus flower for tea  is not that pretty bloom you find in Hawaii

The hibiscus flower you make tea and coolers with is a little shrub. I really don't know if you could make an infusion with the flowery type.

source

Here in the US, or at least in the state I live in, I haven't been able to find Fresh saril or hibiscus flowers just  the dried ones...which are just perfect for the drink or tea and   the ones Lipton sells previously bagged  or the coolers sold at Starbucks. Now let me tell you friends, I paid $3 for a 12 ounce Very Berry Hibiscus Cooler, and it was 6 oz of ice and maybe, maybe,..6 oz of some sort of light, transparent syrupy drink with what I think were berries of some sort floating around. I almost returned the thing and asked for my money back!

Instead I came home and made my version from scratch in 20 minutes and wrote this impromptu post  in hopes to benefit the wallets of any of my readers.
You won't be disappointed and from now on this will be the only way you will have your Hibiscus Cooler, I promise!

 Very Berry Hibiscus Cooler
(Starbucks Copy Kat)

1 Cup dried Hibiscus Flowers
1 inch piece ginger root (or more to taste)

3/4 sugar (or more to taste)

4 Cups of Water
1 Cup frozen berries
2 cups water

In a big pot and high heat add 4 cups of water until it boils, add the hibiscus flowers, ginger and sugar, bring to a boil again, reduce temperature to low and let it simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
Once it's cooled strain the infusion, discarding flowers and ginger
In your blender, add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of berries, hit pulse  repeatedly until they're chopped in little pieces .
You will need a large pitcher now to integrate the infusion with your berry blend.
Listo,
Serve it chilled with ice and enjoy!

As with any tea or infusion if you find that you need to add a little more water or sugar to make it suitable to your taste, please feel free to do so.
Can you tell the difference? I got 1 1/2 QT of Hibiscus cooler and all for $3!!! The same price of just 12 ounces and oh! so much better!!!! (the flowers were only 1.99 and the fruit $1 at the dollar store)

Hibiscus flowers and therefore it's infusion is rich in Vitamin C and has been known to lower high blood pressure as well.

Just the delicious taste of it is worth the 15 minutes brewing time...watch an episode of your favorite show, at the end a delicious drink will be waiting for you!

I think my version looks a lot better in this cup...what do you think?

Thank You for visiting the blog today, and remember dear friends, everything tastes better (and it's a lot cheaper) with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,
Lizy

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