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Butterfly Pea Flower Lemonade

Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: International

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons  dried butterfly pea flowers
  • 2 cups  boiling water
  • 1/2 cup  fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup  granulated sugar or honey
  • 2 cups  cold water
  • 2 cups  ice cubes
  • Fresh mint leaves and lemon slices for garnish

Method
 

  1. Place the dried butterfly pea flowers in a heat-proof pitcher and pour in the boiling water. Let the petals steep for 10 minutes until the liquid turns a deep, dark blue, then strain the flowers out.
  2. While the blue tea is still hot, stir in your sugar or honey until it is completely dissolved. This ensures your lemonade is perfectly smooth without any grainy texture at the bottom of the glass
  3. Add the cold water to the pitcher and place it in the fridge to chill. While the base cools, squeeze your fresh lemons into a separate container, ensuring you remove all seeds and pulp from the juice.
  4. Fill your serving glasses to the top with ice cubes and add a few fresh mint leaves or lemon slices for extra fragrance. Pour the chilled blue tea into each glass, filling them about three-quarters of the way up.
  5. Slowly pour the fresh lemon juice over the blue tea in each glass. Watch as the color instantly shifts from blue to a vibrant purple, then give it a gentle stir and serve immediately to your guests.

Notes

  • Use Filtered Water: Using filtered water for the tea helps keep the blue color clear and bright rather than cloudy.
  • Fresh Lemons Only: Avoid the bottled juice; the fresh scent of real lemons makes a huge difference in such a simple recipe.
  • Control the Heat: Don’t boil the flowers for too long; a simple ten-minute steep is enough to get the color without any bitterness.
  • Layer the Drink: If you pour the lemon juice very slowly over the back of a spoon, you can create a beautiful layered effect with blue on top and purple on the bottom.