Zobo Drink

Zobo is the Nigerian name for a deep red infusion made from dried hibiscus calyces, and it is one of the few drinks that crosses every line in the country, sold from coolers at motor parks, poured at weddings, made at home in large jugs and kept cold for whoever passes through. The same flower travels under different names almost everywhere it is drunk. In Senegal and much of francophone West Africa it is bissap. In Ghana it is sobolo. Across the Caribbean it is sorrel, carried there through the Atlantic trade and now inseparable from Christmas. In Egypt it is karkade. The plant is Hibiscus sabdariffa, and what is steeped is not the petal but the calyx, the fleshy cup left behind after the flower falls. What varies from house to house is what goes in beside it. Ginger and cloves are near universal in the Nigerian version. Beyond that the argument is open, pineapple skin, garden egg leaf, cucumber, lemongrass, a stick of cinnamon. Sweetness is the real dividing line: purists take it plain and tart, while most drinkers add sugar or fruit juice until it turns almost like a cordial. It is caffeine-free, which is part of why it is poured for everyone including children, and it holds its colour for days in the fridge.