Healthy living in Africa Campaign : Bissap | Nestlé

You can find sobolo or sobo pretty much everywhere you go in West Africa. A sweet drink made from hibiscus plant leaves, bissap is known for its health benefits, particularly as a diuretic (which makes it great for people with high blood pressure). If you can get your hands on the leaves making bissap at home is pretty easy, here’s how:

Ingredients:
1 or 2 cups of dried hibiscus flowers (sorrel or roselle)
1/2 of sugar (or to taste)
Handful of mint leaves

Preparation:
Rinse the leaves.
Bring 1 liter of water to a gentle simmer in a large pot.
Add the bissap and mint leaves and allow the water to come to a strong boil. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and pour the juice through a sieve into a large bowl or basin to separate the flowers and mint from the liquid.
Return the bissap and mint to the pot and cover with another liter of water.
Strain this second batch of juice into the first batch of juice.
Continue adding fresh water and straining until the flowers stop giving a strong red juice (2 to 3 times).
Strain all of the juice one more time to get rid of any sediment.
Add sugar and stir well to dissolve.
Chill the juice in the refrigerator.