Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Cooler

Share This

Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Cooler

Having an organic farmer that shows up at your door every Wednesday afternoon with the freshest, yummiest and most in-season foods is literally a dream come true for this girl.

It’s like my own personal Food Network show where I am given a box of random ingredients and I have to create something delicious with them. I guess the only difference is, I don’t also have to use random canned weirdness, fish body parts or other strange things no one has ever heard of.

Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Cooler

Basically, it just means I get to play with my food and I get to be creative with different delicious treats, each week. It really is so fun.

Lately, we’ve been getting all kinds of amazing fruit in our boxes and most excitingly we have been getting these big beautiful watermelons that are seriously the tastiest things I have ever had. So sweet, so juicy and just so perfect for these hot sunny days we’ve been having.

I created these non-alcoholic Watermelon Hibiscus Coolers simply because at one point we had more watermelon than we knew what to do with. They are soo refreshing, so perfectly sweet and aromatic and a beautifully impressive, refreshing treat when you have guests. I served these at the little Memorial Day BBQ we hosted here at our place. Some was even served as margaritas (recipe below) with silver tequila and a little extra fresh lime juice.

Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Margarita

With or without spirits, the slight tartness from the lime juice is so perfect with the sweetness of the watermelon and the raw honey and the subtle floral undertones from the hibiscus really compliments it all so beautifully in this gorgeous pink-hued, caffeine-free, summer time drink.

I personally don’t like overly sweet anything, so I went light on the honey with these. Everyone has a different preference on sweetness and watermelons vary greatly on their natural sweetness, so I recommend tasting the drink once mixed and adding additional sweetener, as necessary.

Hibiscus Dyed Tea Towel

BONUS: Save some of the dried hibiscus you used to make the tea (or additional unused hibiscus) – add a bit more hot water, steep it, strain it and use it as you would regular fabric dye. I tie dyed a misprinted tea towel from our collection and turned it into the perfect one-of-a-kind background for these photos.

Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Cooler
[print_this]Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Cooler
Makes 2 quarts

  • 4 cups filtered or purified water
  • 1/2 cup dried hibiscus (or 4 hibiscus tea bags)
  • 4 cups fresh watermelon juice (see note below)
  • 1/4 cup raw honey, maple syrup or other sweetener
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour over the dried hibiscus. Allow to steep for 5-8 minutes.

Make the watermelon juice. Remove as many of the seeds as you can from the watermelon and cut the flesh into cubes. Discard the rinds. Add 4 to 6 cups of watermelon cubes to the blender and process until smooth. Strain through a strainer or sieve and discard the pulp. (I start with 4 cups of cubed watermelon and add more as needed to get to 4 cups of strained juice)

Strain the hibiscus tea, add the sweetener of your choice. Stir until dissolved.

Once the tea is cooled add to the watermelon juice and add the lime juice. Give it all a good stir and taste. Add more sweetener, as necessary.

Chill until ready to serve. Serve over ice with a watermelon or lime wedge. [/print_this]

Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Margarita

[print_this]Watermelon Hibiscus Lime Margarita
serves 2

  • 1 cup watermelon hibiscus lime cooler (see above)
  • 2 tablespoons additional fresh lime juice
  • 4 ounces silver tequila

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake to combine and strain into a chilled margarita glass, with ice, serve with a lime wedge. Salt your rim if you wish.

You could also make this a slushy margarita, by add ice and blending. [/print_this]

Did you make this recipe - or any others from the TY archives?

Share your photos on Instagram, tag @bethmanosbrickey and include the hashtag #tastyyummies

9 Responses

  1. Yum! That looks delicious, both ways! May I ask, where do you get your hibiscus? You made me think of an iced hibiscus tea they served at a restaurant where I used to live. I’m just imagining it with watermelon and lime and now I REALLY want to try this! 🙂

  2. Carrie says:

    I love this idea!! And no alcohol is great cuz I’m pregnant.

  3. This is such a great drink, Beth. What an awesome way to make use of watermelon. Perfect for summer.

  4. Annette says:

    LOVE this recipe! It got my attention because I make a hibiscus lemonade, but oh, a margarita…that’s even better. I can just hear the slurping now.

  5. This is so beautiful and perfect for this weather! I’m in Virginia near DC and it gets so hot and muggy. Drinks like this are perfect (especially when I don’t want just a sugary margarita or gatorade). Yum, thanks!

  6. Did I tell you how much I LOVE this styling!!

    PERFECTION, pinned for inspiration 😉

  7. winnie says:

    So gorgeous, Beth!

  8. Jeanine says:

    Beth, these are SO pretty!!! Now that the weather is getting hotter I’ve been craving watermelon like crazy 🙂

  9. Holy Moly this looks wonderful! This makes me want to stop at our organic produce store on my way home. I had some hybiscus tea recently and fell in love with the flavor. I cannot wait to try this watermelony goodness. Thanks!

Leave a Reply to Sherrie | With Food + Love Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

STILL HUNGRY FOR MORE?

Sign up for the Tasty Yummies email list and receive notifications when new posts go live, plus get you’ll get exclusive offers, downloads, recipes and more!

DISCLAIMER: This website is written and produced for informational and educational purposes only. Statements within this site have not been approved by the FDA. Content should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise. The reader assumes full responsibility for consulting a qualified health professional before starting a new diet or health program. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns. The writer(s) and publisher(s) of this site are not responsible for adverse reactions, effects, or consequences resulting from the use of any recipes or suggestions herein or procedures undertaken hereafter.