It required an act of Congress to bring a centuries-old African "red drink" into the culinary spotlight. This year, chilled glasses of this brilliant Sorrel Tea will be raised on June 19 to celebrate our new federal holiday, Juneteenth. Forbes has taken note and dubbed this tea “the biggest flavor of 2022” as if it had just arrived from abroad. Hiding in plain sight is a better description of a drink that has been commonplace in African American homes and restaurants for centuries.
Sorrel is the name Jamaicans gave to the dried seed pods of a tropical hibiscus plant shared by West African slaves en route to the States in the 17th century. Bissap is its name in Senegal, where it may have originated, and where it is still prescribed to treat common ailments and to celebrate important occasions. As this drink grew popular in the islands it was embellished with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, bay leaf and sugar. Initially difficult to grow in the States, African Americans improvised red drinks with strawberries and cherries and red Kool-Aid. Every community devised their own recipe and name for the 'red drink'. In parts of the South, hibiscus punch is called "Florida Cranberry". Eventually Caribbean immigrants brought sorrel to the States and cultivated it here.
White Americans are familiar with the floral notes and bright red color of hibiscus in packaged teas and cocktail infusions, unaware of its storied past. Curiosity led me to order a Bissap Sorbet at Moi Moi, an African restaurant off Farragut Square in Washington DC on a recent trip. My friends and I were gobsmacked by its refreshing blend of sweet and tart flavors. The sorbet was consumed more quickly than any other of the desserts, including a flourless chocolate cake.
Sorrel Tea is the ideal drink with which to celebrate the first anniversary of Juneteenth, as the day, June 19, 1986, when Texas recognized the end of slavery, more than two years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It exemplifies the tenacity of a cultural tradition that spans continents and centuries.
SORREL DRINK
2 cups dried hibiscus/sorrel
½ lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
1/3 cup fresh ginger root, chopped
2 cloves
1 cup sugar
10 cups water
Combine all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Cover and steep for 2 hours or overnight.
Strain into containers and refrigerate.
