A hot infusion of dried hibiscus and dried mint, finished with lemon
Brew Xianyitang dried hibiscus and dried mint into a ruby-red infusion, then strain and finish with lemon juice. This bright, tart drink makes two cups in about 20 minutes, with a little optional sugar if you prefer a sweeter finish.
Makes 2 cups, approximately 550–600 ml; preparation about 5 minutes, covered hot infusion 15 minutes, approximately 20 minutes in total.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Weigh the dried hibiscus and dried mint. Rinse each briefly in a fine-mesh sieve using clean drinking water, then drain. No separate cold soak is needed; proceed directly to the covered hot infusion. Wash the lemon, cut 2 thin slices for serving, and squeeze 15 ml juice. Have a heatproof teapot or jug with a capacity of at least 800 ml ready.
Put the rinsed hibiscus and dried mint together in the heatproof teapot. Add 600 ml freshly boiled drinking water, cover, and steep for 15 minutes. This follows the current hot-infusion directions on both product labels; no further heating is needed.
Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a second heatproof jug, removing the hibiscus and mint fragments. If using sugar, stir in 10 g while the tea is still hot until dissolved. Let it cool slightly, then stir in 15 ml lemon juice.
Divide the strained, flavoured infusion between two heatproof mugs and add 1 thin lemon slice to each. Allow it to reach a comfortable drinking temperature. The final volume varies slightly because the dried herbs absorb some water.
Check every ingredient label. Both Xianyitang dried hibiscus and dried mint packs state: packed in a facility that also handles peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya.
Best brewed fresh. To refrigerate, transfer the strained tea to clean small containers, cool promptly and place in a fridge at 0–5°C within 2 hours of making it. This recipe recommends drinking it the same day and adding lemon slices just before serving.
