Description

This strawberry hibiscus refresher is sweet, fizzy, and perfect for a hot summer day. It’s a strawberry hibiscus concentrate made with fresh strawberry syrup, tangy lime juice, and hibiscus tea, plus a splash of sparkling water/club soda when served to add a little fizz.

Ingredients

Scale

Strawberry Syrup

13 oz (370g) strawberries, quartered
1 cup (225g) water
1/2 cup (145g) honey*
1/4 tsp ground vanilla or vanilla paste
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Other Ingredients

2 ½ cups water
1/2 cup (30g) cup loose-leaf hibiscus tea
1/2 cup (4.2 oz or 120g) lime juice
Sparkling water, like Gerolsteiner

Instructions

Cook down the strawberry syrup. Add the sliced strawberries to a large pot, along with the water, honey/cane sugar, vanilla, and salt. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and let it cook until it starts to gently boil. Gently mash the strawberries with a fork or potato masher (by now, the strawberries should be soft), and let them continue to cook down for an additional 5 minutes (keep the heat on medium). The goal here is to evaporate any excess water and concentrate the syrup. Strain over a bowl using a fine mesh sieve — you should have a total of 435g of syrup. Pour the syrup into a large pitcher and set aside.
Make the strawberry hibiscus concentrate. Brew 30g or 1/3 cup loose-leaf hibiscus tea with 2 ½ cups water, steep for 6 minutes, then strain into the pitcher with the strawberry syrup — you should have a total of 495g of tea. Add the lime juice to the pitcher of strawberry syrup and hibiscus and stir well. Pour the concentrate into a large jar with a lid and refrigerate to cool.
Serve. Pour 2 parts strawberry hibiscus concentrate over ice, followed by 1 part sparkling water or club soda — a serving is 2/3 cup concentrate and 1/3 cup sparkling water. Gerolsteiner is my go-to for sparkling water.

Notes

*I highly recommend going with a floral honey like wildflower or clover. And feel free to substitute the honey with 1/2 cup (150g) agave or 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar.