Hibiscus
is renown for its ruby colour and its high content in fruit acids
such as citric acid, malic acid and ascorbic acid (=vitamine C). Both
explains its popularity as it lends many of our fruit tea blends a lot
of body and colour. The scent is weak and the taste is refreshingly
acidic.
Hibiscus is not only used as a refreshment, but
also acts appetizing, helps with colds and circulatory problems and
works expectorant. However, the effectiveness with these traditional
uses is not proven. Furthermore, hibiscus is often used to colour and
flavour foodstuff such as sauces and jelly.