2 colorful drinks made from Butterfly Pea Flower

A vegan blue matcha latte for your babies and a color-changing summer cocktail

Butterfly Pea Flower is often called “blue tea,” although it’s not really a tea: this colorful brew is in fact made not from camellia sinensis leaves, but from the flowers of an Asian plant known as clitoria ternatea or blue pea.

We are talking about a plant of Thai origin that is very rich in beneficial properties for our body: in fact, Butterfly Pea Flowers are a source of anthocyanins, which-in addition to giving the flowers their distinctive garish blue coloring-help us fight free radicals, have an important anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action, and specifically protect veins and capillaries by promoting microcirculation.

Not only that, Butterfly Pea Flower is totally caffeine-free! It is therefore also perfect for children, the elderly, and all people who are particularly sensitive to this component.

A healthy and natural dye

Another peculiar characteristic of these flowers is their ability to color electric blue, in a totally natural and safe way, the water in which we infuse them or, if in powder form, the foods and drinks to which we add them as an ingredient.

Want to surprise your children with a trick? Once you have made your infusion from Buttefly Pea Flower dried, then squirt a few drops of lemon into your cup…the blue will change color, turning purple! This is pure chemistry, but this usually impresses adults as well: the explanation lies in thePH instability of Butterfly Pea Flower, which on contact with an acidic agent such as lemon changes its coloring by tinging itself violet or bright pink.

You can definitely indulge with this product – after the mouthwatering vegan recipe for Blue Matcha Butterfly Pea Flower pancakes, we bring you two more recipes: a vegan blue matcha latte suitable for young and old alike and an alcoholic cocktail with surprising colors.

Recipe of Blue Matcha Vegan Latte

Here is a smurf-colored, vegan, completely caffeine-free matcha latte that you can make together with your kids.

Ingredients:

• Half a teaspoon of Blue Matcha Organic Butterfly Pea Powder
• 100 ml of water, preferably low fixed residue or filtered
• 200 ml of vegetable milk (almond, coconut or oat)
• Agave syrup to sweeten to taste
• Half a teaspoon of vanillin

Preparation:

1. Place the Blue Matcha Organic Butterfly Pea Powder in a wide-mouthed container (a very wide cup, for example)
2. Heat the water to 80°C and pour it slowly over the Blue Matcha powder, beating it with an electric whisk to dissolve it so that no lumps remain
3. Heat the vegetable milk separately: when it reaches the desired temperature (without boiling!), transfer it to a large, mug-like cup
4. Add the vanillin, agave syrup, and Blue Matcha to the hot milk in the cup, still helping with the electric whisk so the milk whips slightly and froths nicely
5. Sprinkle with some Blue Matcha powder and your Blue Matcha Vegan Latte is ready!

If you want to best admire all its shades of blue, you can serve it in a clear glass cup.

Magic Blujito Recipe

Why not put a blue twist on the classic mojito? And this summer cocktail has a final surprise….

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons of Dried whole flowers of organic Butterfly Pea
• 200-250ml water, possibly low fixed residue or filtered
• Fresh mint leaves – a generous handful
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup (increase or decrease the amount depending on how sweet you want it)
• Juice of 1 lime or half a lemon
• 1 finger of rum

Preparation:

1. Infuse the Butterfly Pea Flower, mint leaves and agave syrup in a cup of hot water at 90°-95°C for 3-5 minutes
2. Strain it and pour it into a pitcher
3. Leave the pitcher in the refrigerator for a few hours
4. Fill a glass with ice cubes (a tall tumbler is ideal) and pour in your cold brew, taking care not to go all the way to the brim but to leave at least 3 cm of space
5. Pour in a finger of rum and stir
6. Squeeze a lime and slowly pour its juice into the glass, without stirring: you can help by pouring the juice on the back of a spoon to create a surface layer
7. Your cocktail is ready! Go ahead and mix it, watching what happens–magic! The blue slowly becomes tinged with lighter shades, until it turns purple and then pink.