Known for their bright blue hue, earthy flavor and health benefits, butterfly pea flowers are commonly used to brew an herbal tea Blue pea tea. So today we want to show you how to make this calming drink from scratch in just a few minutes!
Butterfly pea, also known as blue pea or Asian pigeon pea, is native to South and Southeast Asia, where it is praised for its health benefits in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
Butterfly Pea flowers are traditionally used to brew a fine blue tea and as a natural food coloring for rice dishes and desserts.
The marvelous buds are a striking blue color due to the high concentration of blue-purple pigments called anthocyanins – just like those that make blueberries blue!
These blue pigments are powerful antioxidants that are responsible for the many health benefits of these exotic flowers: aiding in weight loss, better blood sugar control, and healthier skin and hair.
Brewing a nice cup of blue pea tea is a great way to reap these health benefits. And it is also so nice to sip such a colorful tea!
To make blue tea from scratch, all you need is water and culinary butterfly pea flowers, which are typically sold as dried flowers in Asian grocery stores. But if you can’t find them there, then you can easily get them online!
If you steep the flowers in hot water, the blue pigments will dissolve in the water, resulting in a bright blue tea.
And how does the tea taste? Slightly floral, sweet and fresh, with subtle earthy notes. So unique!
The more flowers you use or the longer you steep them, the darker and stronger the blue pea tea will be.
So the cool thing about making butterfly pea tea is that you can make it a different shade of blue each time!
In the following steps we will give you two options: one to brew a light blue tea and one to brew a dark blue tea.
These two options also come in handy if you want to use butterfly pea tea in recipes, not just for sipping.
The dark blue tea option is ideal as an all-natural colorant for blue drinks, baked goods and desserts.
We use it all the time in our Butterfly Pea recipes like this Magical Lemonade, Blue Bubble Tea and Thai Blue Sticky Rice – give them a try!
Okay, time to put on the kettle and brew this wonderful blue pea tea together!