Dried Blue Lotus Flower

The Dried Blue Lotus Flower(Nymphaea caerulea) has long been a very important flower in ancient Egypt and Mayan culture, so much so that it is found in numerous papyri and in wall representations of temples in the Karnak Valley and Luxor. According to several scholars, struck by this parallelism between two cultures so geographically distant, blue lotus flowers were used in both cultures for ritualistic purposes and probably to reach altered states of consciousness during religious ceremonies.

In all likelihood, beyond its symbolic and religious aspect, the Blue Lotus was also used by the ancient Egyptians and Maya as a meditative plant, capable of promoting concentration, relaxation and lucid dreams.

Benefits of the Blue Lotus

The Blue Lotus is rich in vitamin B and L-carotene: in traditional medicine it has been used for thousands of years to stimulate the metabolism, to induce sleep, as a natural aphrodisiac and as a sedative. There are antioxidant components, flavonoids, phenols and two alkaloids to which it is possible to trace its main properties: apomorphine and nuciferin; both have antispasmodic, relaxing, aphrodisiac and antipsychotic properties.

Sight and smell

The whole lotus flower, the size of the palm of a hand, has large petals arranged in a spiral and slightly folded inward in purple, with a lighter lilac towards the center that fades to a stronger indigo towards the outside . Numerous bright yellow stamens stand out in the center of the flower, some petal-shaped and some still closed and filamentous in shape, with purple streaks.
Once infused in water, the flower exudes fresh notes of young bamboo and anise, as well as a delicate hint of green wood.
In the cup, the liqueur is golden yellow with lime green reflections.

Tasting Notes

On the palate the liqueur reveals fresh and almost mentholated notes, with sweet hints reminiscent of anise and fennel. There are also slight vegetable hints of bamboo shoots and a slight background bitterness that suggests the taste of saffron. The body is silky and of medium density, with a fresh persistence and notes of anise that linger on the tongue.

Infusion method

We recommend preparing this flower with a classic Western-style preparation: 1 gram (or a whole flower) in 400 ml with water at 80°C for an infusion time of 2 minutes, according to personal tastes.