Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel
All photos by Curt Saunders for Black-Owned Brooklyn
In 2015, Nzinga Knight, owner of Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel, was on her grind. Her line of high-end, fashion-forward modest clothing was selling in stores around the world, and the year before she’d been a contestant on Project Runway — the first hijabi to star on the reality TV show. But life as an independent fashion designer didn’t always cover the bills, so she moved back in with her parents to her childhood home of East Flatbush.
“I had thoughts like, ‘What’s going on with my life?’” Nzinga, 38, says of her living situation back then. “But then something told me: Bloom where you’re planted.”
Determined to thrive no matter what, Nzinga pushed herself to see East Flatbush through new eyes and found inspiration in its largely Caribbean culture. Yet when she craved sorrel like her Trinidadian father used to make, she struggled to find a version that got it right.
“They were either too sweet or too watered down, and it was always made in this fast food way that didn’t get to build its complexity,” says Nzinga, who borrowed Dad’s recipe to satisfy her craving for the drink and to share with friends (since said recipe yielded a whopping four gallons).
Folks were so blown away by Nzinga’s small-batch sorrel, and so many people asked to buy it, that she started a second business: Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel.
“I had thoughts like, What’s going on with my life? But then something told me: Bloom where you’re planted.”
It’s not just the fact that Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel is made exclusively from raw and natural ingredients like sorrel flower, ginger, cane sugar, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves and orange peel. Nzinga says the secret to her sorrel’s nuanced, balanced notes — at once sweet, spicy, smooth and effervescent — is her slow boiling process, applied in small batches, which extracts all the flavor from those ingredients. Taking a cue from the artistry of wine bottles, she does it all with a little style, too.
“I wanted something with amazing packaging on the outside, but on the inside it’s actually good for you,” says Nzinga, who strictly avoids alcohol. But she packages her non-alcoholic beverage in spirits-inspired glass bottles with a self-designed label that incorporates the Brooklyn Bridge, sorrel blossoms, oak barrels, her initials, and a gold seal stating “Caribbean Approved.”
Although Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel is delicious on its own, if you like yours with a rum kick, it also works great as a mixer. Find it at select Ideal grocery stores or buy online at brooklynbrewedsorrel.com.
Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel has come a long way since Nzinga boiled massive pots of it in her home kitchen as a side hustle to fashion design. Today it’s sold at 14 Ideal grocery locations across New York; Brooklyn spots including Granchamps, Black Nile and Ode to Babel; and online. The beverage has also been recognized by Bon Appétit Magazine and served at a prestigious James Beard Foundation dinner.
“It’s allowed me to show my culture in this uniquely Brooklyn way,” says Nzinga, whose parents are from Trinidad and Guyana, explaining that while sorrel is mostly a seasonal beverage in the Caribbean, it’s enjoyed year-round here in Brooklyn. “And I love being among other Black-owned businesses in Brooklyn, holding our ground as Brooklyn is changing so much — by being a part of that growth and change in an authentic, beneficial way.”
