By Summer 2022. Sofia turns sixteen on July 2. Sixteen — the age that matters in Texas because sixteen is legal driving, legal working, the age when the state recognizes what the family has known for four years: Sofia is an adult in every way except the calendar. She got her official driver's license (the real one, not the learner's permit she's been using as a technicality while driving the bakery van since she was fifteen). She drives the van now with the authority of the owner she will someday be, and the someday is approaching, and the approaching is the plan.
Her birthday gift: I gave her the keys to the bakery van. Not the bakery key — she has had that since thirteen. The van key. The delivery vehicle. The mobile extension of Panadería Rosa. She held the key and she said: "This means I handle deliveries now." I said: "This means you handle everything now." She heard the everything. She nodded. The nod was the acceptance, and the acceptance was the passing, and the passing was not complete (I am still here, I am still at 4 AM, I am still the hands) but the passing had a milestone, and the milestone was a key, and the key was the van, and the van is the bakery on wheels, and the wheels are turning, and the turning is the future.
Diego started high school at Bel Air — a freshman, following in the footsteps of Luis Jr. (graduated), Isabella (graduated), and Sofia (currently a junior). Four Gutierrez children at the same high school across six years. Diego walked in with a binder of MIT course certificates and a 3D-printed model of a bridge and the particular confidence of a fourteen-year-old who has been published and knows more about structural analysis than most of the teachers. He enrolled in AP Physics, Honors Geometry, and Computer Science. His counselor said: "This is an ambitious schedule for a freshman." Diego said: "This is the minimum."
I made agua de Jamaica for Sofia's birthday — the hibiscus drink, the summer drink, the drink that says: you are sixteen and the summer is yours and the bakery is yours and the van is yours and the future is a road and you are driving it. The Jamaica was cold and red and sweet, and Sofia drank it standing behind the bakery counter, in her apron, with the van key on the chain next to the bakery key next to the cross, and the chain around her neck held everything she is: baker, driver, believer, daughter, future.
Every year Sofia’s birthday falls in the height of summer, and every year I try to make something that meets the moment — but this year the drink chose itself. When your daughter is standing behind the bakery counter she has worked since she was thirteen, wearing her apron, with the van key still warm from your hand resting on the chain around her neck, there is only one drink cold enough and red enough and sweet enough to say what words can’t quite reach: agua de Jamaica, the hibiscus drink, the drink of celebrations and summer and things being exactly as they should be.
Agua de Jamaica
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes (plus chilling) | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (flor de Jamaica)
- 8 cups water, divided
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Ice, for serving
- Lime slices, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Simmer the concentrate. Combine 4 cups of water, the dried hibiscus flowers, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the liquid is deep red and fragrant.
- Sweeten. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until fully dissolved. Let the mixture steep for an additional 5 minutes.
- Strain. Pour the concentrate through a fine-mesh strainer into a large pitcher, pressing gently on the solids to extract all the liquid. Discard the flowers and spices.
- Dilute and brighten. Add the remaining 4 cups of cold water and the fresh lime juice to the pitcher. Stir to combine.
- Chill. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour. Taste and adjust sweetness with additional sugar if desired.
- Serve. Pour over ice in tall glasses and garnish with lime slices if using. Stir before each pour, as the drink may settle.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 85 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 5mg