Description
🌺 Single Herb☕ Caffeine-Free🍷 Ruby Red🌿 Loose Leaf
The single-flower cup — pure dried hibiscus calyces, the Sudanese karkadeh that pours ruby-red on its own.
Hibiscus tea is a single-ingredient drink across half the world. In Sudan it’s « karkadeh », served cold and sweet at every social occasion; in Egypt it’s the same drink under the same name. In Mexico it becomes « agua de jamaica »; in West Africa it’s « bissap »; in the Caribbean it’s « sorrel ». The flower itself — the dried calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa — is the same plant in every glass. Sudan is one of the world’s major commercial producers, which is why this tea takes its name from Khartoum.
Pure cut calyces, nothing added. The cup brews a deep ruby red on contact with hot water, with the natural tartness that makes hibiscus instantly recognisable. Caffeine-free, naturally rich in vitamin C, drinks well hot in winter and properly comes alive iced in summer.
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Pure Hibiscus
Single ingredient — dried flower calyces only
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Ruby Red
Deep natural colour — no dye, no additive
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Made for Iced
The classic iced karkadeh of Sudan and Egypt
✨The Sampson Promise
We only put ingredients in our products that we would use on our own family. Every ingredient has a purpose. If it doesn’t need to be there, it isn’t.
Type
Single-Herb Infusion
Caffeine
None
Best Time
Iced, especially
Format
Loose Leaf
Steep Time
5 min
Servings
~25 cups (50g)
Tasting Notes
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Tart Berry Top
Aroma
Bright, slightly tart, faintly cranberry — the smell of dried red flower rather than fresh berry. Cleaner and sharper than blended fruit teas, because there’s no candied flavour underneath.
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Tart Tannic Body
Body
The cup carries a clean tart bite, slightly tannic in the way unsweetened cranberry is tannic. The body is full but never heavy — naturally low in sugar, distinctly red.
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Clean Bright Finish
Aftertaste
Closes bright and slightly puckering, the way unsweetened cranberry juice closes. With a small spoon of honey it rounds out into a fruit-cordial cup; without it, the tartness stays clean.
How to Brew
01
Measure
One heaped teaspoon (about 2g) per 8oz cup. The cut is light and flaky — fill the spoon properly. For iced karkadeh, double up.
02
Heat the Water
Bring water to a full boil — 100°C / 212°F. Hibiscus calyces need real heat to release their colour and tartness.
03
Steep 5 Minutes
Five minutes gives a full ruby cup. Longer is fine — hibiscus doesn’t go bitter, just deeper. Strain through a fine mesh.
Water
100°C
Time
5 min
Per Cup
1 heaped tsp
Brew double-strength, sweeten lightly with honey or sugar while hot, then pour over ice with a slice of lime — that’s a Sudanese-style iced karkadeh. A sprig of fresh mint takes it further. The sweetened cold version is what hibiscus is for, year after year.
About the Tea
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Hibiscus Calyces
The Whole Cup
The dried calyces — the protective casing around the flower’s seed pod — of Hibiscus sabdariffa. Cut, not powdered, so the cup brews ruby red and clear rather than muddy. Single ingredient: nothing else in the bag.
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Sudanese Origin
The Tradition
Sudan is one of the world’s major commercial producers of hibiscus, and karkadeh — the cold sweetened hibiscus drink — is the country’s unofficial national beverage. Egypt drinks the same drink under the same name. The Khartoum in this tea’s name is the Sudanese capital.
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Naturally Vitamin C-Rich
The Profile
Hibiscus calyces are naturally rich in vitamin C — one of the reasons the drink has stayed in kitchens across hot climates for centuries. The tartness on the cup is the natural acid profile of the flower; no sweetener required.
In the tin
Hibiscus flower calyces (Hibiscus sabdariffa).
Origin & Sourcing
Pure dried hibiscus calyces — single ingredient, no blend. Hibiscus sabdariffa, the same flower used to make karkadeh in Sudan, agua de jamaica in Mexico, bissap in West Africa and sorrel in the Caribbean. Naturally caffeine-free, naturally rich in vitamin C, packed in small batches for the Sampson shelf.
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