Roselle
Roselle is the fleshy calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa, an annual mallow grown across West Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Mexico, Thailand and southern China. The part traded is not the flower petal but the calyx and epicalyx that swell and turn deep crimson around the seed capsule after the flower drops, and which are picked, separated from the capsule and dried.
Two components define its use. Anthocyanins, principally delphinidin-3-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside, give the intense red colour that survives well in acid systems and make roselle one of the few botanicals that will colour a beverage without a synthetic dye. Organic acids, at 15 to 30 percent of the dry calyx and dominated by citric, malic and the species specific hibiscus acid, give the sharp sourness that is as characteristic as the colour. The calyx also carries pectin and mucilage, which contribute body to an infusion, along with polyphenols and a small amount of ascorbic acid.
Dried calyces are sold whole, cut and sifted, or milled, at 10 to 12 percent moisture, dark red to purple black and brittle. They are hygroscopic and soften and clump in humid air. The calyx is not soluble; the colour and acid are extracted into hot or cold water within minutes, and the resulting liquor holds its red hue below about pH 4 and shifts towards dull purple and grey as the pH rises. Heat, light and oxygen degrade the pigment progressively, so both the dry material and any extract are protected from all three.
We source bulk Roselle from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Tianjin. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Nutraceutical
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Dried calyces, deep red to purple black, free of seed capsule |
| Identification | Conforms to Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx by macroscopic examination |
| Odour and taste | Characteristic fruity aroma, strongly sour |
| Whole calyces | 90.0 percent minimum |
| Moisture | 12.0 percent maximum |
| Total anthocyanins | 1.0 percent minimum |
| Total acidity as citric | 15.0 percent minimum |
| Total ash | 10.0 percent maximum |
| Acid insoluble ash | 1.5 percent maximum |
| Foreign organic matter | 2.0 percent maximum |
| Lead | 3.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 2.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Cadmium | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Ochratoxin A | 15 ug/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 100,000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 1,000 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Roselle is graded first by origin and cultivar, since the varieties differ in colour intensity, acid level and calyx size. Sudanese and Egyptian material is traded on deep colour, Nigerian and West African material on volume, Thai and Chinese material often on larger fleshy calyces suited to candying and preserves.
Physical grading is the main commercial axis. Whole dried calyces are the top grade for infusion and for presentation; cut and sifted material in defined screen sizes serves tea bag and extraction lines; and powder at 40 to 100 mesh is sold for blending. Broken material and fines are traded at a discount into extraction. Buyers specify the proportion of whole calyces, the tolerance for seed capsule, stem and foreign organic matter, and colour, usually against a reference standard or as an anthocyanin assay.
Processed grades are separate lines. Roselle extract is sold as a liquid or spray dried powder standardised on anthocyanin content or on colour value, and decolourised acid extracts are traded where the sourness is wanted without the pigment. Buyers also distinguish sun dried material, which is the traditional and cheapest route but variable in colour and microbial load, from hot air dried and from steam treated or irradiated low microbial grades. Organic certification is available across the range.
Applications
- Herbal and fruit infusions, the largest outlet, where roselle is the red, sour backbone of most hibiscus and berry tea blends
- Ready to drink iced teas and cold brew, where the calyx delivers both colour and acidity without added acidulant
- Natural colouring of beverages, confectionery and desserts, where anthocyanin rich extract is used as a colouring foodstuff in acid systems
- Functional and wellness drinks, positioned on the polyphenol content of the calyx
- Jams, syrups, sauces and jellies, where the native pectin and acid support setting without much added pectin
- Candied and preserved calyces, sold whole in syrup as a confection and as a cocktail garnish
- Alcoholic drinks, where roselle is used in fruit beers, liqueurs and flavoured spirits for colour and tartness
- Supplement capsules and powders, where standardised extract is dosed for anthocyanin and polyphenol content
- Dairy and frozen desserts, where extract is added to an already acid base so the pigment stays red
- Cosmetic formulation, where the acid and polyphenol fraction is used in exfoliating and antioxidant products
Brands Using Roselle
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Roselle on the ingredient label.
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Roselle
Top Roselle manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States dried roselle calyx is a conventional food and a dietary ingredient, used in herbal teas on the basis of a long history of food use, and regulated under the general adulteration and labelling provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, with current good manufacturing practice at 21 CFR Part 111 where it is used in supplements. 21 CFR 182.20 lists hibiscus among the botanicals generally recognised as safe as a natural flavouring substance and covers its use as a flavouring and seasoning. Where a roselle preparation is added to another food specifically to give colour, it becomes a colour additive and must be the subject of a listing for that use, so a manufacturer relying on it for colour needs a listed colour additive rather than a food ingredient status. Beverages made from the calyx fall under the juice or beverage rules appropriate to their composition.
In the European Union Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx has a clear history of consumption and is an ordinary food, used in herbal infusions and food supplements, with Directive 2002/46/EC governing supplement labelling and national rules on botanicals applying in several member states. Where a hibiscus preparation is used to colour a food, the distinction between a colouring foodstuff and an additive is decisive: a preparation obtained by selective extraction of the pigment falls under the food additive framework of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 as anthocyanins, E 163, while a preparation retaining the flavour and acid characteristics of the calyx may be used as an ingredient. Dried botanicals are subject to statutory maximum levels for lead and cadmium, to pesticide maximum residue levels applied on the dried commodity, and to controls on aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in dried plant material. Codex Alimentarius has no commodity standard for roselle, so the general standard for contaminants, the general standard for food additives and the code of hygienic practice for low moisture foods provide the applicable international references.
Manufacturing Process
Calyces are hand harvested about three weeks after flowering, when they are fully coloured, fleshy and still tender, since the pigment declines and the tissue becomes woody if the crop is left standing. The seed capsule is pushed out of the calyx with a hand tool or a mechanical corer at the collection point, and the calyces are washed and sorted to remove insect damaged, mouldy and green material.
Drying is the step that decides the grade. Traditional practice is sun drying on mats or racks over two to five days, which is cheap but exposes the anthocyanin to light and gives a variable moisture and a high microbial load. Industrial lines use tunnel, belt or cabinet driers with hot air at 45 to 60 degrees Celsius, taking moisture to 10 to 12 percent under controlled airflow and in the dark, which retains a brighter colour and a lower and more predictable microbial count. Freeze drying is used only for premium colour retention grades.
Dried calyces are graded on vibrating screens into whole, cut and sifted, and fines fractions, aspirated to remove leaf and stem, passed over magnets and metal detection and, where the destination requires it, given a steam or hot air pasteurisation or an irradiation treatment. Packing is into lined cartons or foil laminate bags that exclude moisture and light.
Extract production takes cut calyx or fines and leaches it with warm water or dilute aqueous ethanol, keeping the temperature down and the contact time short to protect the anthocyanin. The extract is filtered, concentrated under vacuum at low temperature or by membrane, standardised on colour or anthocyanin assay, and either sold liquid or blended with maltodextrin and spray dried at a low outlet temperature into a powder that is packed with an oxygen and moisture barrier.
