Juicy Inspiration

Today I ran into Whole Foods to pick up a sandwich and decided to splurge and get an exotic drink – maybe an iced green tea with ginger and ginseng. What a surprise to find “Adina” brand Hibiscus Lemon Cooler “Bissap”. Bissap was our favorite drink and favorite “ice” (popsicle) in the Gambia! I even brought a bag of the dried flowers back with me in my suitcase to make my own bissap in the U.S.

Sophia was with me and we both let out a surprised cheer amidst the serious lunch crowd. After grabbing a bottle she noted the “Gambian lady” on the label carrying the hibiscus flowers on a bucket on her head. I scanned all the interesting information on the label: “Our brilliant red hibiscus is sourced through women’s cooperatives in Senegal.” (Gambia’s borders lie within Senegal and they share the same culture(s).) And all the ingredients were pure and yummy.

The other side of the label told a great story:
“Oumi is out picking hibiscus blossoms when she hears the first drumbeat. The festival begins tonight and she’s going to make Bissap, the national drink of Senegal, for the whole village. Oumi blends the hibiscus infusion with a squeeze of lemon and hands a glass to her grandmother. “Mmm!” she exclaims, “it make me feel like dancing!”
Gathered from around the world our recipes have been passed on from generation to generation using the wisdom of native plants.
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I bought out the supply of three bottles I found in their fridge and got a deal, because, sadly, the product is being discontinued at my Whole Foods store. The company shares its own interesting story on their website: www.adinaworld.com. It was great fun bringing home this surprise to Layla, Anisa and Alex and we had it as a treat with dinner. Now that we’re back, we keep running into products that have a connection – though never this strong – with our experiences in Africa, like the mini-skirt L & A liked at American Eagle made with the type of eyelet material found in traditional Gambian fabric stores.

More than anything, it made our day to see one of our favorite things from Africa packaged so nicely at our local store, reminding us of the creative people who bring our world closer together – whether it’s through juice or mini-skirts or documentaries. It tasted good, too.