Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Bissap
A deep-crimson chilled hibiscus drink sweetened and scented with mint and a little vanilla.
Senegalese · easy · serves 6
prep 5 min · cook 15 min
~138 cal · 0g protein · 36g carbs · 0g fat · 1g fiber · 35g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bissap is the deep-crimson hibiscus drink of Senegal, made by steeping dried hibiscus flowers (the calyces of the roselle plant) into a tart, ruby infusion that is then sweetened and often scented with mint, vanilla, or orange-flower water. Refreshing and vividly colored, it is the unofficial national beverage.
Hibiscus grows readily across the Sahel, and the drink is known by many names across West Africa, but Senegal's mint-and-vanilla version is especially popular. Sold chilled in bottles and little plastic sachets by street vendors in Dakar, it is a cheap, cooling antidote to the heat.
Bissap appears at celebrations, in homes, and on every street corner, and it is often served to welcome guests. Naturally caffeine-free and tangy-sweet, it is the taste of a Senegalese afternoon, bright red, ice-cold, and endlessly refreshing.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 cups whole dried hibiscus calyxes (bissap)
1 cup, to taste sugar
a handful fresh mint
1/2 tsp a drop of vanilla
1 tsp orange-flower water
8 cups water
Instructions
1
Rinse the hibiscus, then simmer in the water for 5 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Five minutes is enough to pull out the colour and the tannin. Boil it longer and the drink turns bitter. Buy whole dried calyxes rather than powdered hibiscus tea bags; they give a deeper red and a cleaner, less astringent taste.
2
Turn off the heat, add the mint, and steep 15 minutes.
3
Strain through a fine sieve, then stir in the sugar and vanilla while it is still warm, and the orange-flower water last.
✎ Chef’s note
Sugar dissolves properly only while the infusion is hot. Orange-flower water goes in after straining and off the heat, or its scent cooks away. Bissap is the Wolof name for Hibiscus sabdariffa, the same flower sold as karkade in Egypt and Sudan, sorrel in the Caribbean and agua de jamaica in Mexico; in Senegal the plant earns its keep twice over, since the leaves go into ceebu jen while the calyxes make this.
4
Chill thoroughly in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
5
Serve over plenty of ice, with extra mint.
Dakar street tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dakar. Eating is done from one bowl. The dish is set in the middle, everyone takes with the right hand from the wedge directly in front of them, and the host pushes the best pieces of fish and vegetable across to guests. Teranga, usually translated as hospitality, is what that gesture is for, and yassa, chicken or fish under onions slackened with lime and mustard, is the other dish it is performed over.
🗺️
Senegal. Senegal sits where the Sahel meets the Atlantic and both ends show up in the pot: millet and groundnuts from the drier interior thicken mafe, while the coast supplies the fish that anchors most meals. Bissap steeped from dried hibiscus flowers and the chalky, tart pulp of the baobab fruit are what gets drunk alongside.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Senegal
Thieboudienne (Senegalese Fish & Rice)Senegal’s national dish: herb-stuffed fish braised with vegetables over deeply tomato-stained broken rice.
Poulet YassaChicken smothered in a mountain of lemon-and-mustard onions, grilled then braised, Casamance’s gift to West Africa.
FondéA comforting Senegalese millet porridge cooked with milk, sugar, and a hint of orange-flower or nutmeg.
Browse all Senegal recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Senegal meal
Thieboudienne (Senegalese Fish & Rice)Dinner
Ngalakh (Baobab & Peanut Millet Cream)Dessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Bissap?
A deep-crimson chilled hibiscus drink sweetened and scented with mint and a little vanilla.
Where does Bissap come from?
Bissap is a Senegalese dish from Dakar, Senegal.
Can Bissap be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bissap recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bissap safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bissap take to make?
About 20 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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