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Hawaii might be the first place people think of when they think of hibiscus, but Africa has a rich history of using the flower in food and medicine. Not only does it make for a refreshing sweet drink, but hibiscus has been used for centuries to treat colds, high blood pressure and liver disease due to its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. The showy flower has also been blooming in well-appointed Portland gardens for the last couple of weeks.
Tigard-based beverage company Hibisbloom uses West African recipes to craft hibiscus-based beverages and mixer syrups. Hibisbloom’s base recipe is inspired by bissaps, African hibiscus teas that can be combined with any number of other natural ingredients ranging from mint to cinnamon. Affouet Price launched Hibisbloom in 2020 during the pandemic using skills she learned from her mother and grandmother. Price’s recipes draw from her Ivory Coast heritage, resulting in flavors that are naturally satisfying on their own as canned drinks ($18 for a four-pack of 12 ounce cans, or $36 for an eight pack) or as concentrate syrup ($16 for 12 ounces). A personal favorite is Hibisbloom’s Cascade Vanilla in either form. The Cascade Vanilla syrup is currently sold out online, but Price says Hibisbloom recently moved into a new production facility and is working on restocking its products.
Vanilla’s reputation as somehow being bland or boring is grossly undeserved. Vanilla extract takes months of intense labor to make after years of waiting for vanilla orchids to mature and produce the pods that hold the complex, worldly flavor. It’s affordable in small doses, but pure vanilla can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars when it comes fresh from the world’s leading markets, like Madagascar. Whether tasted as a pre-mixed drink or poured over a fresh one (alcoholic or not), the Cascade Vanilla flavor lets both flowers bloom alongside orange blossom in rose water without the garden getting overgrown. One can practically taste the same pure extract flavor that one gets from vanilla bean ice cream within the drink and syrup’s bouquet.
I picked up a gift pack of Cascade Vanilla at a makers market this past December. My household drank the canned tea drinks almost immediately, appreciating at the time how vanilla felt both seasonally appropriate yet summer-forward enough to boost through winter gloom. As temperatures have soared this summer, I cracked open the Hibisbloom syrup and added it to some lemon-lime soda, just to see what would happen. I was never under the impression that the soda used real lemons or limes, but the syrup’s natural floral flavors made it into a more elevated afternoon pick-me-up. I can only imagine what a skilled bartender could do with this.
