Roadside Cooler · Hibiscus Drink
Zobo
Photo: Halima Waziri / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The same dried hibiscus is sobolo in Ghana, bissap in Senegal and sorrel in Jamaica; Nigerian versions often add pineapple peel alongside the ginger and cloves.
Zobo is a deep-red drink steeped from dried hibiscus calyces (zobo) with ginger and cloves, sweetened, and served ice-cold, often in reused water bottles or small plastic bags. Vendors sell it from coolers on street corners and outside schools all over Nigeria.
Why it's made this way: It grew out of Hausa foodways in northern Nigeria and spread nationwide as a cheap, refreshing alternative to sugary bottled soda.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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