Butterfly blue pea tea brings curiosity on several platforms. For starters, its name is intriguing and next is its colour-changing properties. Additionally, the flowers act as a natural dye and form part of so many cuisines, used for fabric colouring, and it is a surprise in itself.
This blog will tell the tale behind the flower’s name and solve all the mysteries of a butterfly blue pea flower being a natural dye. Moreover, you will get a list of the cuisines in which you can use blue pea tea to get the blue, purple/violet and green colours.
Origin of its name – butterfly blue pea flower
The name “butterfly blue pea flower” is a result of its appearance and colour. The flower is called a “butterfly” because the petal’s shape resembles a butterfly’s. At the same time, “blue pea” comes from the blue petals and their membership (Fabaceae) in the pea family.
Clitoria ternatea is the scientific name of the butterfly blue pea flower. It has been derived from the Greek word “clitoris,” meaning “resembling a closed hand.” The Latin word “ternatus,” meaning “threefold” or “triple,” refers to the three-parted leaves of the plant.
The science behind its colour-changing properties
The butterfly blue pea flower contains a natural blue pigment called anthocyanin, a water-soluble pigment extracted from the blue pea petals and used as a natural dye.
The petals are typically soaked in hot water or boiled to extract the pigment, and then the liquid is strained and used as a dye. Depending on the dye’s concentration and the liquid’s pH, the resulting colour can vary from a pale blue to a deep purple-blue. Acidic liquids like lemon juice can turn the dyed purple-violet, while alkaline liquids like baking soda turn it green.
How to make butterfly blue pea tea?
The butterfly blue pea tea is a herbal tea called tisane. In other words, it is a caffeine-free tea. It consists of dry butterfly blue pea flowers. The butterfly pea tea recipe is quite simple to follow:
Step 1: Pour 150ml water into a pan/kettle.
Step 2: Heat the water till it reaches 80°C – 85°C.
Or
You can directly put hot (80°C – 85°C) water in a kettle.
Step 3: Put 1g butterfly pea flower tea in hot water.
Step 4: Cover the pan/kettle.
Step 5: Steep it for 2-3 minutes.
Step 6: Pour it into a cup to enjoy while it is warm!
You can keep it in a refrigerator for an hour or so to enjoy it cold!
Things worth noting
- Butterfly blue tea is a magical tea. When you add a few lemon drops to it, the colour changes to purple/violet.
- It doesn’t have a taste of its own as such, and it tastes best without any sweetener.
- Chiya Leaf butterfly blue pea tea leaves can be reused.
If you have made a blue cuppa in the morning, you can use the flowers again (keep the used petals in the refrigerator to prevent mould). However, while reusing, the steeping time will be more. For butterfly pea flower tea, the time usually is 7-10 minutes or until you get the desired colour.
What can you make from blue pea tea?
There is only one blue pea tea recipe, but there are several things that you can make using butterfly blue pea tea. Kudos to the colour it gives to the cuisines and no taste of its own. Blue pea tea is like drinking water that has a blue colour. However, this blue colour water has lots of health benefits, and we will discuss that in the next blog – the benefits of butterfly blue pea tea. Thanks to its colour-changing properties, the favourite part is that you can make any cuisine in three colours using butterfly blue pea flowers.
Some of the popular day-to-day food items in which you can use butterfly blue pea flower tea are:
- Rice
Replace the normal water with blue pea tea, and voila! The blue pea tea rice is ready. Squeeze a few drops of lemon before water is completely absorbed, and violet/purple colour rice can be your meal. - Sweet
Blue pea tea is a baker’s favourite, adding a beautiful hue to cakes, cookies, and other baked goods. They also use it to create natural food dyes for frosting and other decorations. - Ice cubes
The photos say it all! - Welcome drink
You can serve shots of cold blue pea tea, offer it as iced tea, or add to fresh lime soda to welcome your guest with a hued drink. It can be part of anything from your mild mocktail to a classy cocktail.
- Milkshake
This one we have added specially for kids.
We often give kids hot chocolate or chocolate milkshake so that they don’t find milk boring in taste and appeal. However, this sweetened milk is doing more harm to them than good. Blue pea tea shake can be a great alternative. The tea is herbal, i.e. free from caffeine, so it is safe for kids to consume. It certainly solves the issue of ‘milk should look tempting’ (just look at the pictures; aren’t they gorgeous?). And if you are trying to keep them away from sugar or want to minimise its consumption, prepare them a colourful glass from day 1 for an acquired taste.
While adults can have a brightly coloured latte.
You can always add some honey, vanilla syrup or cinnamon & nutmeg like spice for an enriching flavour.
- Popsicles
It is time to add a new ingredient -butterfly blue pea flower- to your long list of tropical flavour popsicle recipes.
Butterfly blue pea flower is used not just to make cuisines look pleasing and attractive. This natural dye is often used in traditional textiles and fabrics, particularly in Southeast Asia and India.
If you have ever used butterfly blue pea flower tea to give your cuisine a new dimension, let us know in the comment section below.
