# From "The Hidden History of Beverages" by Alexander Lukashev

## 22. Hibiscus with Calendula

Part Two (recipes), chapter 22 · Drunk whenever you like
Page: https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/hibiscus-calendula/

tart drink · taste: sharply sour, close to cranberry · preparation time: 10 minutes

Plants:
- calendula flower (Calendula officinalis L.) — European Medicines Agency monograph EMA/HMPC/437450/2017 Rev. 1: traditional use, external only, for minor inflammation of the skin and small wounds and for inflammation of the mouth and throat
- hibiscus calyx (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) — no European Medicines Agency monograph

From “Before You Begin,” the book’s safety page (free: https://herbalmind.bar/before-you-begin/):
- Fifteen of the recipes are drunk whenever you like. Make them at whatever frequency suits you, within the limits each chapter gives.
- Hibiscus stands outside that count: it has no European monograph and so nothing recognized, yet its effect on blood pressure is the best-documented clinical finding in these pages (Chapter 22).
- Hibiscus, Chapters 22 and 25, lowers blood pressure and adds to the effect of medication that does the same.
- Pregnancy: Twenty-six of the twenty-eight recipes here are restricted in pregnancy — most because safety has not been established rather than because harm has been shown, but the answer is the same either way. The two that carry no restriction are the rosehip brew of Chapter 26 and the sea buckthorn of Chapter 28, both of them fruits eaten as food across Europe.

The recipe itself — amounts and preparation, who should not drink it, how much and for how long — is in chapter 22 of the book: https://books.apple.com/book/id6756108723

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These are chapter cards — what each chapter covers, with a few short answers and the book’s free pages — not the chapters themselves.
Apple Books, with a free sample: https://books.apple.com/book/id6756108723
Other stores: https://books2read.com/u/mqlAwO