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Two glasses of iced butterfly pea flower tea, one blue and one turned purple with lemon, beside dried flowers on a worn table

Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Recipe That Turns Purple With Lemon

Prep
2 min
Cook
8 min
Total
10 min
Servings
2 mugs

Dried blue flowers, water just off the boil, and a squeeze of lemon at the table that turns the cup from cobalt to violet. Hot or over ice, lightly sweetened, with the one small trial on blood sugar read closely and the FDA rule on the flower's blue extract.

Ingredients

  • 2 cupbrewed butterfly pea flower tea, from 2 tbsp dried butterfly pea flowers steeped in 2 cups (475 ml) of water just off the boil
  • 2 tbsplemon juice, freshly squeezed, 1 tbsp per mug, added at the table
  • 2 tsphoney, optional, 1 tsp per mug
  • 1 cupice cubes, only for the iced version

Instructions

  1. Heat the water. Bring 2 cups (475 ml) of water to a boil, then take it off the heat and let it rest for about 1 minute. Water just off the boil draws out the color without a flat, stewed taste.
  2. Steep the flowers. Put the dried flowers in a teapot or a heatproof jug and pour the water over them. Steep 5 to 8 minutes. The water turns blue within the first minute; the longer steep deepens the color and the soft, woody flavor.
    Dried butterfly pea flowers steeping in a clear glass teapot, the water turned deep cobalt blue
  3. Strain and sweeten. Strain into two mugs, pressing lightly on the flowers. Stir 1 tsp of honey into each mug if you want it sweet; taste first, because the tea itself is very mild.
  4. Add the lemon at the table. Pour 1 tbsp of lemon juice into each mug in front of whoever is drinking it. The blue shifts to violet as you stir. For the iced version, let the tea cool, pour it over ice, then add the lemon.
    Two glass mugs of butterfly pea flower tea, one still blue and one turned violet with lemon, a halved lemon behind

Notes

  • Add the lemon last. Once it is in, the color does not go back to blue, and the show is half the point.
  • For a layered iced glass, put the lemon juice and honey in the glass first, fill with ice, then pour the cooled blue tea slowly over the back of a spoon.
  • Buy flowers sold as food or tea. If you grow the plant, use only flowers you know were never sprayed.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (estimated) : Calories: 27 | Total Carbohydrate: 7 g | Protein: 0 g | Total Fat: 0 g | Sodium: 3 mg

Category: Smoothies & DrinksAuthor: Alin BCuisine: Thai