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A hihiscus flower margarita recipe inspired but a night out in San Francisco. A few weeks back there was a stretch of atypically hot nights in SF. I decided I would head from my house in Duboce Triangle and walk towards the Mission to the Spanganga gallery. I was going to see 'A Sure Thing,' which included photographs by Todd Hido and Alice Shaw. On my way down 19th a funky little Caribbean sugar shack kind of place caught my attention -- Little Baobab. It was tiny, colorful, had a couple tables out front, and a welcoming menu including fried plantains. Great place to sit down on a warm night in SF. We didn't eat there that night, but I did go back last week.

The drink menu was a lot of fun. I fell into a bit of a rut with my first choice which was a hibiscus margarita. I drank two (or was it three?) of them. They smelled floral and sweet, but full of berries all at the same time. I got mine on ice as opposed to blended, and the color was a beautiful pomegranate shade which added to its irresistibility. I of course asked the guy behind the bar how they made them, and he replied "they make them all from scratch here." Which didn't help me at all.

To add to my confusion I found a sprinkling of recipes for hibiscus (or Jamaica flower) margaritas online. A few of them called for a few cups of hibiscus flowers- which last time I checked, weren't part of the produce selection at my neighborhood market. I was imagining actual flowers. So I kind of gave up. Until....

I was at Rainbow Grocery, and I saw a big jar full of deep magenta dried hibiscus flowers.

I thought I was onto something, but wanted to make sure I wasn't going to poison myself. I asked the Rainbow girl if she thought I could make a simple syrup infused with these hibiscus flowers, and then use that syrup to make the margaritas.

She said I would be fine, and added that the flowers are very tart, and very sweet at the same time, and that I wouldn't need much.

Hibiscus Flower Margarita Recipe

1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
1 cup+ tequila

Then I let it simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Strained through cheesecloth, and put the hibiscus water in the fridge to cool.

To serve I added the tequila (to taste). I then mixed and poured over ice. You want to be able to taste the hibiscus, and you don't wan't it too sweet. You may want to add a bit of water if it is too sweet or strong.

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