I’ve always wondered how to colour food naturally, never really been a fan of artificial stains for food which has to be consumed.
So recently I discovered blue pea flowers that give this gorgeous blue colour and turns purple when mixed with anything acidic like lemon juice. Since I had a lot of blue pea flowers, I tried making a few beverages.
Blue pea, scientifically known as Clitoria ternatea, is a non-caffeinated herbal extract with loads of health benefits. It is packed with antioxidants and is used in various cuisines and beverages.
How to brew blue pea tea
- Take about 2 cups of water (or as required) bring it to a boil and then turn off the flame to low.
- Take about 4-5 dried blue pea flowers (enough to get the colour).
- Let the blue pea flowers release the colour in the water, use the back of the spoon to press the flowers to release any pigment remaining.
- When the blue pigment is prominent enough, strain and discard the flowers.
Blue pea tea can be had in many ways, here are some ways you can make some fun blue pea drinks:
- Soothing Blue Pea Tea
Loaded with health benefits, a fun replacement to chai &coffee is hot steaming blue pea tea.
You can take the brewed blue pea tea mixture made earlier and add sugar/honey and mix it well. You could also flavour the tea with other extracts like lemongrass, hibiscus, ginger, lemon, cinnamon and so on to add more flavour to the tea. The colour of the blue pea tea will change as per the extracts used.
2. Blue Pea Lemonade
A perfect mocktail for a warm sunny day. It feels like summer.
Ingredients
- Freshly brewed blue pea tea
- Sugar /Honey
- Lemon juice
- Ice cubes
- Soda water / Plain water
- Pieces of lemon and Indian basil or mint for garnishes (optional)
Method
- Add the sugar/honey to the butterfly tea and stir until completely dissolved.
- Now mix the lemon juice as per taste.
- Fill the serving glasses with ice and pour the butterfly pea lemonade over the ice, up to about half of each glass.
- You can fill the rest of each glass with soda water or dilute it with plain water.
- Garnish with pieces of lemon and Indian basil or mint and stir to enjoy.
3. Blue Pea iced latte
A creamy tropical twist in combination with a yummy fun mocktail
Ingredients
- Brewed blue pea
- Milk/Almond Milk
- Honey /Sugar
- Ice cubes
- Vanilla essence
Method
- To flavour milk add 2 tsp of honey to the milk or some sugar, add about 1-2 drops of vanilla essence(this is optional)
- To make the iced latte, add about half a cup of the flavoured milk and decent amount of ice cubes.
- Add the brewed blue pea extract and watch the magic of the colour diffusing in the milk.
- Quick and yummy, the blue pea latte is ready.
Blue pea tea is not just amazing and fun to drink but it has amazing health benefits from helping in digestion to pain relieving properties.
You can purchase the blue pea tea from the botanical range from Tea Trunk
All images shot on Canon 1500 D, 50 mm lens in natural light.