Hibiscus sabdariffa
Karkade, the benchmark hibiscus.
The global trade prices hibiscus against Sudanese karkade — the dried calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa, grown rain-fed on the sandy soils of the Kordofan belt. One annual crop and a long dry finish concentrate the pigment and acidity buyers pay for. We supply it whole and sifted, cleaned and graded to specification.
Origin
El Rahad, by name.
The Sudanese trade distinguishes two commercial qualities of karkade — El Rahad and El Fashir — and El Rahad, from the eastern Kordofan sands, is the one international buyers prefer. That is the quality our suppliers buy, at the district markets where the crop is first weighed: El-Obeid, El Rahad, Umm Ruwaba. From there it is cleaned, graded and packed to the specification in the accepted offer, and moves to Port Sudan under the same documented chain as our gum.
Because the crop is rain-fed and harvested once a year — from November, with new crop shipping from December — pigment, acidity and calyx size vary between seasons and districts. Every offer is drawn against a retained reference sample of the specific lot. What you approve is what ships.
Specifications
Standard export specification
| Parameter | Standard |
|---|---|
| Moisture content | 12% max. |
| Color | Purple-red |
| Extract content | 41% min. |
| Total acids | 25–30% |
| Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) | 80–100 mg / 100 g |
| Total anthocyanin (dry basis) | 0.9–1.6 g / 100 g |
| pH of aqueous infusion | 2.7–3.1 |
| Water-insoluble solids | 36–38% |
| Protein content | 5% max. |
| Fiber (dry flower) | 15% min. |
| Reducing sugar | 12% max. |
| Ash & mineral salts | 10% max. |
| Impurities / foreign matter | 2% max. |
Tighter windows on any single parameter can be worked to where your process requires it. A certificate of analysis accompanies every shipment; extended panels — anthocyanin, pesticide residue, heavy metals, microbiology — are arranged through an international laboratory where your market asks for them. Steam sterilization and additional cleaning passes are available where your microbiological limits require them.
Composition
What carries the value
The pigment. The color is not one compound. The dominant anthocyanin is delphinidin-3-sambubioside — the deep reddish-violet cast this origin is known for — with cyanidin-3-sambubioside the second major pigment. Total anthocyanin runs 0.9–1.6 g per 100 g on a dry basis: the reason karkade is specified for natural coloring as well as for tea.
The acid. Flavor sits almost entirely in the acid fraction: 25–30% expressed as hibiscic acid, an acid characteristic of the species, or about 14% as citric, with malic and tartaric present in smaller amounts. An infusion sits at pH 2.7–3.1, which is where the pigment is most stable and most intensely colored. We report acidity on whichever basis your specification uses; hibiscic acid is freely soluble in water and in alcohol, so aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extraction both run well on this material.
The minerals. Calcium leads at 0.6–1.9%, followed by potassium and phosphorus, with vitamin C at 80–100 mg per 100 g in new-crop material — the basis of the mineral-replenishment positioning karkade carries in beverage markets.
Three things we tell every buyer
Take new crop.
Vitamin C falls away in calyx stored beyond about six months. Where an ascorbic-acid claim matters, take new-crop material — the crop year is stated on every bag.
Keep it cool and dark.
Anthocyanin degrades with heat, light and time. Cool, dark, dry storage keeps the color you paid for in the bag.
Watch iron and copper.
Traces in process water and equipment accelerate pigment loss. Short, low-temperature extraction at natural pH gives the strongest, most stable color.
Grades
Two grades, graded by hand.
Cut grades and hibiscus powder are produced to order, and blending, private-label packing and retail-unit filling can be quoted alongside the lot. Reference samples can be arranged, and a sealed sample of every shipped lot is retained for twelve months.
Applications
Where it is specified
Tea & infusions
Whole calyx for loose-leaf and blends; the sifted grade for volume lines.
Natural coloring
Anthocyanin-led reds for soft drinks, confectionery and wine-based beverages.
Extracts
Aqueous and hydro-alcoholic, for nutraceutical and flavor houses.
Food & culinary
Syrups, jams, sauces and garnish, where acidity carries the profile.
Natural color
The raw material for natural red.
The US food industry is reformulating away from synthetic red. FD&C Red No. 3 loses its authorization for food in January 2027, and major manufacturers have committed to removing petroleum-based dyes across their ranges. The categories moving first — beverages, confectionery, gummies, syrups — are acidic systems, and acid is where hibiscus performs: at an infusion pH of 2.7–3.1, the pigment is at its most intense and its most stable.
The color is delphinidin-led — the bluish-red cast reformulators are working to recover — and it extracts in plain water as readily as in hydro-alcoholic systems. For extract houses, flavor houses and natural-color formulators, the economics run on pigment delivered per kilogram: a 41% minimum extract floor, 0.9–1.6 g per 100 g anthocyanin, a hand-sorted sifted grade with seed and stalk already out, and new-crop material with the crop year stated on every bag.
Hibiscus colors in the United States as an ingredient in its own name — not as a certified additive — and in the EU as a coloring foodstuff. Either way, reformulation begins with the raw material, and this is the origin the trade prices it against.
Logistics
Packed and loaded
| Packaging | New double-stitched PP bags, 20–25 kg or 10 kg |
| Container | 12 MT per 40-ft FCL; 20-ft on request |
| Port of loading | Port Sudan |
| Tariff classification | HS 1211.90 |
| Terms | CIF, CFR or FOB Port Sudan |
| Shelf life | 24 months packed, in cool, dry, ventilated storage |
Minimum order is one full container; trial quantities can move by air freight where you want to run the material before committing to a container. Every bag carries product and grade, crop year, lot number, net and gross weight and country of origin — your own marking or private-label artwork on request. The document set is the one every Alley Pond lot travels with: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, phytosanitary certificate, certificate of analysis, and fumigation certificate where required.
Hibiscus moves through the same supply chain as our gum — bought at named markets, cleaned and graded by our suppliers, loaded at Port Sudan — with the same lot-level record from the first weighing to your dock. How every lot is documented →
Work with us
Run the material before you commit.
Tell us your application and volume. We'll send the specification, a sample plan and a firm offer against a retained reference sample.