Refreshments Tico style

I think the scent and taste of hibiscus tea is soooo delicious. I don't recall exactly when I "discovered" hibiscus herbal tea. I vaguely remember World Market offered a line of herbal teas sold in vertical tube containers. My favorite way to consume it is iced. Every year for Burning Man, I would brew up a gallon or so of tea, pour it into a big plastic jug and freeze it. My morning Playa ritual was to sip a cold mug of iced hibiscus tea while sitting in the shade structure, (wearing one of my many Playa breakfast costumes creations) and watching the sun rise over the eastern ridge.

With those fond memories, I embarked on brewing home-grown hibiscus tea. The hibiscus bushes that we were gifted from a neighbor are blooming gorgeous blossoms. The bushes

offer a lovely variety of colors from this pale yellow with fuchsia heart, to a peach with red heart to a purple red bloom. In preparation, I dutifully researched the internet for information on brewing. It said that you can place fresh blooms in hot water and "Violà!" or "Listo!" as they say here. I couldn't bear to pick the luscious blooms off the bush. Instead, first thing in the morning, I gathered up the newly dropped blooms from the ground under the bush. I placed about 5 flowers in water and brought it to a boil. I was so excited to relive the delicious sweet, yet tangy taste of the hibiscus tea of my memory! Well...it tasted more that watery dirt. There was a very faint taste of what I remember, however, the tea was undrinkable. M suggested that it may better to use only the deep purple/red blooms rather than a mixture of the lighter colored flowers. The purple/red bush is just getting established. I don't want to raid its flowers and overtax it right now. I'll try again in a few months. In the meantime, I'll savor my original memories. The stores at La Frontera (our closest shopping area) have a very limited offering in herbal teas and hibiscus is not one of them.

This experience hasn't stopped me from attempting other "fresqita" concoctions. "Fresqita" is a Tico word for refreshment. We were visiting with Jorge, our Dr. Doolittle neighbor, as we were chatting about various goings on, he showed us a cross between a bush and a short tree that had these fruits growing out of the trunk.

The name of it is a variation of "amarillo" (yellow) and to me it looks like a persimmon. He advised us to slice it open, remove the seeds and peel the skin. Place the pulp in a pot of water with a couple of tablespoons of rice. Cook it until the rice and pulp were tender, let it cool, then pop it in the blender. I added a little stevia. My first attempt at this fresqita was OK. It has a creamy consistency with a fruity taste.

Then Jorge walked us over to another bush/tree plant. I say bush because it is about 6' high and tree because the limbs and branches are narrow yet extremely stiff. He cut off several of the branches and explained that you strip the bark and quarter the branches to expose the center. Place the branches in water and wait 24 hours, then drink it. It took a lot of effort to strip the bark and I dutifully placed the branches in the water. Next day, the water had a syrupy consistency with not much flavor. Jorge extolled the virtues of this beverage as, "muy suave" and "ricisima" meaning very soft and rich. Also it is good for your intestines. Well, my intestines and colon certainly reacted. Not in any painful way but I was cleaned out, so to speak. I was telling some gringo friends this story and they were laughing that I shouldn't attempt every recipe that Jorge suggests. I trust Jorge and he wouldn't recommend anything that was harmful. I'm happy to experiment as it is always an adventure.