SPICY PINEAPPLE HIBISCUS REFRESHER (SOBOLO/ZOBO)

We've had this 'mystery' tree standing in our backyard for as long as I can remember.Growing up,I remember waking up to an amazing smell that filled the entire house.Its funny how we all thought the smell was coming out of our neighbors house.Thanks to my eldest brother,we discovered the mystery tree  is  a cinnamon tree.Yes! Cinnamon

tree in our backyard I literally wanted to spend the night under the tree if not for my mums intervention.Now we use cinnamon for everything .I used both the leaves and sticks in my hibiscus tea recipe.Enough of the cinnamon talks ,let's just dive straight to the kitchen and make some sweet spicy "cinnamony" hibiscus tea(so-bo-lo/zo-bo)

Hibiscus tea is a refreshing drink made from the petals of the hibiscus plant .It is popularly known as sobolo in Ghana,zobo in Nigeria,sorrel,bissap are other names given to the drink.it as.Studies have shown that the drink helps in the quick  relief of cold,helps with weight loss,lowers cholesterol, and manages blood pressure .It can be drank hot or cold,adding spices to the tea depends on individual preferences.I would choose sharp spicy over blunt sobolo anytime any day.

INGREDIENTS;

• 1cup of rinsed dried hibiscus leaves 
• I whole pineapple 
• 5cups of clean water (4cups for boiling,1cup for rinsing)
• 2-3pieces of cinnamon leaves (equivalent to 1tablespoon of powdered cinnamon/1 cinnamon stick) 
• lemon
• 2 stumps of freshly washed ginger 
• 2 pieces of dried chili 
• 2 tablespoons full Cloves(pepre or kanafuru)
• 2 whole Calabash nutmeg/African nutmeg (called wide3 Aba in Ghana)
• 1/2 tablespoon of grains of paradise (Efom wisa)
• 4 tablespoonfuls of honey
• Granulated sugar/brown sugar for added sweetness 

COOKING PROCESS;

1. Rinse hibiscus leaves in a colander under running cold tap water 
2. Add roughly blended ginger to 4cups of boiling water 
3. Add pineapple peels and cinnamon leaves/stick/powder 
4. After two minutes,set heat to low and pour in hibiscus leaves 
5. Add in crushed cloves,Grains of paradise,calabash nutmeg and dried chili 
6. Turn off heat immediately mixture starts to boil
7. Add honey while mixture is still hot and stir
8. While waiting for hibiscus mixture to cool down,Blend pineapple and set aside 
9. When mixture finally cools down strain the liquid into a clean bowl add the remaining cup of water to the sieved out content,strain and use the resultant liquid to dilute the the drink 
10. Add sugar and stir(Optional)
11. Serve in  a glass, add ice cubes cut half way through lemon ,place at the edge of a glass and enjoy !
12. Store remaining drink in the fridge