Butterfly Pea Flower
Herbal infusion
About this tea
Butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea) is a caffeine-free herbal tisane brewed from the deep-blue petals of a climbing legume native to tropical Asia. Its flavor is mild, earthy, and faintly sweet — gentle enough to layer with lemongrass, mint, or honey — but its real magic is visual: the infusion brews a vivid sapphire blue that shifts to purple and pink the moment an acid like lemon or lime is added. Rich in anthocyanin antioxidants, it has long been a fixture of Southeast Asian kitchens and folk traditions, from Thai and Malay cooking to Ayurvedic preparations. Today it is celebrated worldwide as a natural food colorant and a soothing, color-changing tea generally considered safe in food and beverage amounts.
How to brew: 95°C, 5 min, 2 g per cup.
Caffeine
None
How to brew
Flavor notes
smooth, earthy, lightly sweet, floral
Often associated with
Calm, Relaxation
Best time to enjoy
Afternoon, Evening, After a meal
Tags
Origin & Production
Butterfly pea is a perennial climbing vine that thrives in the warm, humid lowlands of Southeast and South Asia, where it has been grown for centuries along fences, trellises, and field margins. The vivid blue, butterfly-shaped flowers are harvested by hand, often in the cool of early morning when the petals are at their most colorful. Beyond its ornamental and culinary roles, the plant is valued as a nitrogen-fixing legume that enriches soil, so it is frequently planted as a cover crop. Most butterfly pea reaching the global market is grown in Thailand, where it is widely known as 'dok anchan' and used in everything from rice dishes to refreshing drinks.
Production process
Hand harvesting
The deep-blue flowers are picked individually by hand, typically in the early morning when petals hold their richest pigment and the day's heat has not yet wilted them.
Sun or shade drying
Fresh petals are spread in thin layers and dried — in gentle sun or ventilated shade — until crisp. Careful drying preserves the anthocyanin pigments that give the brew its signature blue.
Sorting & cleaning
Dried flowers are sorted by color and intactness; whole, vividly blue blossoms are prized for tea while broken petals often go to colorant production.
Packaging & sealing
Because light and air fade the pigment, the flowers are packed in opaque, airtight containers to protect their vivid color until they reach the cup.
Brewing & blooming
A handful of dried flowers steeped in hot water releases a sapphire-blue infusion within minutes; adding lemon or lime tilts the pH and transforms the color to purple or pink.
History & Tradition
Butterfly pea has woven through Asian cuisine, ritual, and folk medicine for centuries, prized both as a natural dye and as a gentle, caffeine-free infusion long before it became a social-media sensation for its color-changing trick.
Native cultivation in Asia
Clitoria ternatea was cultivated across tropical Asia as an ornamental vine, a soil-enriching legume, and a source of vivid blue dye for food and textiles.
Use in traditional medicine
In Ayurvedic tradition the plant, known as 'aparajita' or 'shankhpushpi' in some regions, was valued as a calming, restorative herb included in tonics and rituals.
Botanical naming
Carl Linnaeus formally described the species as Clitoria ternatea, the epithet 'ternatea' referencing the island of Ternate in present-day Indonesia.
Spread across the tropics
Through trade and colonial plant exchange, butterfly pea spread to tropical regions worldwide, becoming a familiar fence-climbing flower in gardens across Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Blue rice and sweets
In Thai and Malay cooking the flowers became a beloved natural colorant — tinting nasi kerabu blue rice, steamed sweets, and refreshing iced drinks served at festivals and roadside stalls.
Global café trend
Bartenders and cafés worldwide embraced butterfly pea for its color-changing showmanship, featuring it in lattes, lemonades, and cocktails that shift from blue to purple before your eyes.
Health Benefits
Antioxidant-rich
The same anthocyanins that color the petals blue are plant antioxidants. Sipping butterfly pea is a pleasant, caffeine-free way to enjoy these colorful compounds as part of a balanced diet.
Caffeine-free calm
With no caffeine and a mild, earthy taste, butterfly pea makes a soothing companion for the evening — a gentle ritual to help you wind down without affecting sleep.
Digestive comfort
Traditionally enjoyed as a light infusion after meals, a warm cup of butterfly pea can be part of a calming after-dinner routine that feels gentle on the stomach.
A mindful, sensory ritual
Watching the brew shift from blue to purple with a squeeze of lemon turns tea time into a small moment of wonder — a sensory pause that invites you to slow down.
Natural color, no additives
Butterfly pea is a vivid, plant-based way to add blue and purple hues to drinks and food without synthetic dyes — celebrated by home cooks who prefer natural ingredients.
Grades & Varieties
Whole dried flowers
Intact, deep-blue blossoms dried with their shape preserved. The premium format for tea — they steep into the most vivid blue infusion and look beautiful floating in a clear glass.
Best for
- ✓Color-changing hot or iced tea
- ✓Showpiece glass infusions
- ✓Natural blue food coloring
Cut flowers & tea bags
Broken petals and smaller pieces packed loose or in tea bags. Slightly less dramatic in the glass but convenient and quick to steep for everyday cups.
Best for
- ✓Quick daily infusions
- ✓Travel-friendly brewing
- ✓Blending with lemongrass or mint
Butterfly pea powder
Finely milled dried flowers in concentrated powder form. A pinch delivers intense, instant blue color — favored by bakers, baristas, and mixologists for lattes, batters, and cocktails.
Best for
- ✓Blue lattes and smoothies
- ✓Coloring batters and frostings
- ✓Quick cocktail color
Did you know?
Butterfly pea tea is nature's mood ring: it brews a vivid sapphire blue, then turns purple and pink the instant you add lemon or lime, because its anthocyanin pigments react to changes in pH.
Foods with this tea
What to Eat with Butterfly Pea Flower Tea
Butterfly pea's mild, earthy, faintly sweet character pairs beautifully with Southeast Asian rice dishes, coconut sweets, and light citrusy bites that play off its color-changing magic.
Thai Blue Rice (Khao Dok Anchan) with Butterfly Pea
Fragrant jasmine rice tinted a stunning natural blue with butterfly pea flowers — the signature base of Malay nasi kerabu and a showstopping side for any Southeast Asian meal.
Color-Changing Butterfly Pea Coconut Jelly
A wobbly two-tone coconut jelly layered with butterfly pea blue and creamy white — finished with a lemon drizzle that magically blushes the blue layer toward purple.
Drinks with this tea
Calming Butterfly Pea & Lemongrass Evening Infusion
A soothing, caffeine-free blue infusion of butterfly pea, lemongrass, and honey — a gentle wind-down ritual that feels as good to look at as it does to sip.
Color-Changing Butterfly Pea Lemonade
An iced lemonade that pours sapphire blue and turns vivid purple-pink the instant the lemon hits — refreshing, caffeine-free, and pure summer magic in a glass.
Color-Changing Butterfly Pea Gin Cocktail
A botanical gin cocktail that pours electric blue and shifts to violet-pink with a splash of citrus — plus an easy alcohol-free mocktail version for everyone to enjoy.