Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Recipe

Nothing says summer and magic quite like a color changing Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail recipe to cool you off, wouldn’t you agree?! 

photo of the magic color changing Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

Impress your friends with a boozy magic trick by mixing up some Butterfly Pea Flower Cocktails at your next get together!

This color changing cocktail is spin off of mint juleps. As any Southerner or Derby die-hards will tell you, mint juleps are not for the faint of heart. 

They are on the boozier side, featuring lots of bourbon. And they are absolutely delicious and perfect to keep cool on a hot day.

I, Ashley Conway made this Butterfly Flower Pea Cocktail with lots of crushed ice, fresh mint, a color changing syrup (yes, seriously!) and some added lemon juice for a balanced and perfectly crushable cocktail recipe! 

Where does the magic part come in? With a little science and help from a flower! The Butterfly Pea Flower!

photo of a close up of the magic color changing Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail recipe by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth  

What is a Butterfly Pea Flower?

The Butterfly Pea plant or Clitoria ternatea is wildflower vine plant. The flower originates from Thailand, where it is used in herbal teas and dishes to create a color changing effect. 

When expanded, the vine plant expands to resemble a butterfly. (Hence, it’s name.)

When citrus juice or other acidic ingredients are added to a drink or dish with the flower, it changes color! 

When the ph level fluctuates, so does the color, changing from a vibrant blue to purple and finally to pink in some cases, giving the drink a “galaxy” like effect.

This special ingredient acts as a natural food coloring. And it doesn’t have to be only used in cocktails! Locals actually use the flower in a popular Asian tea, Nam Dok Anchan.

photo of the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail changing from blue tea to purple by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

Something as simple as lemonade pairs well with butterfly pea flower tea.

The Southeast Asia flower is actually with filled with anti-inflammatory compounds. So it’s a perfect relaxing drink that’s rich in antioxidants. 

For this cocktail, lemon juice is poured over the drink to make the butterfly pea flower change from deep blue to a pretty purple.

 

photo of the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea leaves by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

Ingredients Needed to Make a Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail 

Mint leaves — For your cocktail and for garnishing

Bourbon

Butterfly Pea Flower syrup — The simple syrup is easy to to make and only requires dried Butterfly Flower, water and sugar.

Lemon juice — The important acidic element needed to get your cocktail to change colors.

Crushed ice

photo of the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail before it changes colors by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth  

Where to Buy Butterfly Tea Flower

You can purchase dried Butterfly Pea flowers online from AmazonEtsy or find them at a spice or herbal store.

They’re also sold as butterfly pea tea (which is caffeine free). However, make sure to buy whole dried flowers instead of the powdered tea.

They’re really popular for their mood ring color changing ways so you’d be surprised how easily they can be found!

photo of a mood ring color changing galaxy cocktail by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth  

Simple Syrup | How To Make A Butterfly Pea Flower Syrup 

Butterfly pea flower has a earthy and woody taste similar to green tea. However, with some sugar, it makes for a sweet blue tea simple syrup.

Here’s how to brew your own:

1 —  Steep 1/8 cup of dried Butterfly Pea flowers in boiling hot water for 15 minutes. Then, strain out the flowers with a fine mesh strainer.

2 — Add 1 1/2 cups of the butterfly flower tea to a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and heat on medium. You can reserve the leftover tea to drink or freeze into ice cubes and crush for this drink.

3 — Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and let cool.

Store your Butterly Pea syrup in a jar or airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to a month.

photo of the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail from above by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

How to Make a Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail 

Before you start, make sure you’ve made butterfly flower syrup beforehand.

Gently muddle mint leaves in a julep cup or fluted glass.

Next, add crushed ice to fill 3/4 of the glass.

Then, add bourbon and the Butterfly Pea Flower syrup and stir to chill. Add more crushed ice to fill the glass.

Pour lemon juice over the cocktail and watch the blue pea change colors! The presentation alone makes this such a fun drink.

Make sure to stir it well. You’ll want to evenly mix the tart and sweet flavors. You’ll know when it’s ready when your drink is a deep magenta.

Smack mint sprigs to release oils and then, garnish the glass.

You don’t want to just throw in the mint. To “smack” the sprigs, place the sprig in one hand and gently smack it with the other. This is when the fresh flavors are released!

 

Magic Color Changing Mint Julep Recipe by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth  

How to Make Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail for a Big Party

Our cocktail recipe makes for one serving.

If you are hosting a large gathering or don’t want to individually make each cocktail, you can make a large batch.

Just make sure to keep the simple syrup recipe and the bourbon and lemon juice mixture in separate pitchers.

photo of a mint julep inspired cocktail, the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail recipe by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

More Fun And Easy Cocktail Recipes

Love how unique this Butterfly Pea Flower cocktail is? Check out our other favorite drinks and boozy treats that will wow your guest:

photo of how to make butterfly pea tea cocktail recipe by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

Magic Color Changing Mint Julep Recipe by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Cocktail Recipe

Print Recipe
5 from 15 votes
Impress your friends with a boozy magic trick by mixing up this color changing Butterfly Pea Flower Cocktail at your next get together!
Total Time10 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine Cocktails

Equipment

  • Julep cup
  • Muddle

Ingredients

  • 8 mint leaves and more for garnishing
  • 2 1/2 oz bourbon
  • 3/4 oz butterfly flower syrup refer to recipe below
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • Crushed ice

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 170IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
Servings: 1
Calories: 86kcal

Notes

  • If you are hosting a large gathering or don’t want to individually make each cocktail, you can make a large batch. Just make sure to keep the simple syrup recipe and the bourbon and lemon juice mixture in separate pitchers.

Instructions

  • Prepare the Butterfly Pea Flower simple syrup. Refer to the recipe below.
  • Gently muddle mint leaves in a julep cup or fluted glass.
  • Add crashed ice to fill 3/4 of the glass.
  • Add bourbon and the Buttefly Pea Flower syrup and stir to chill.
  • Add more crushed ice to fill the glass.
  • Pour lemon juice over the cocktail and watch the blue pea change colors! Make sure to stir it well. You’ll want to evenly mix the tart and sweet flavors. You’ll know when it’s ready when your drink is a deep magenta.
  • Smack mint sprig to release oils and garnish the glass. To “smack” the sprigs, place the sprig in one hand and gently smack it with the other. This is when the fresh flavors are released!
KEYWORD: butterfly pea, butterfly pea flower, butterfly pea flower tea, color changing cocktails

Butterfly Pea Flower Syrup

Magic Color Changing Mint Julep Recipe by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

Butterfly Flower Pea Syrup Recipe

Print Recipe
5 from 11 votes
Changing from a vibrant blue to purple and finally to pink, this syrup gives any drink a “galaxy” like effect.
Total Time10 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine Syrup

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • Fine mesh strainer

Ingredients

  • 0.125 cup dried Butterfly Pea flowers about 50 flowers
  • 4 cup water
  • 1.5 cup white granulated sugar

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Sodium: 13mg | Sugar: 75g | Calcium: 8mg
Servings: 4
Calories: 290kcal

Notes

  • Store your syrup in a jar or airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to a month

Instructions

  • Boil water.
  • Steep Butterfly Pea flowers in boiling water for 15 minutes.
  • Strain out the flowers.
  • Add 1 1/2 cups of the Butterfly Pea Flower tea to a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium. You can reserve the leftover tea to drink or freeze into ice cubes and crush for this drink.
  • Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and let cool.
KEYWORD: butterfly flower, cocktail, color, flower, sugar and cloth, syrup

 

Don’t forget to share your Butterfly Pea Flower cocktail with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? You can find them all right here with a few bites to go along with them!

Please note that we may earn a commission for some of the above affiliate links. However, products featured are independently selected and personally well-loved by us!

21 thoughts on “Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Recipe”

  1. So wonderful! Creme de violette may provide a similar result by being mixed with citrus juice to get the same colour change!5 stars

    Reply
  2. Question about: Steep Butterfly Pea flowers in boiling water for 15 minutes.

    Does that mean i leave it on a boil or i just put boiling water in the tea pot?

    Reply
    • Great question! You would just steep it in the water (that was boiled) like when you steep tea. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes. But definitely do not keep the water boiling. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Hi there,

    My apologies for my earlier comment. It seems another individual (going by the name Organic Tea on Pinterest) is using my image and linking to your site (you can view their pin here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/140806229801163/). If you have any contact with this person I would greatly appreciate you asking them to remove the photo and only promote your content using your own images. Again my apologies for assuming you had stolen the images.

    Thank you,
    Salima

    Reply
    • Hi Salima! Thank you for sending us the link. Unfortunately, we are not associated with or know of any account that goes by the name Organic Tea. It looks like this account sells tea and will repost tea recipes that they like. They probably just linked their pin to the wrong website since it looks like they correctly credited all their other pins. You may have better luck messaging this account through Pinterest or finding their contact info on their website.

      Reply
    • Hi Salima! We just checked, and we don’t see any of our created pins using images that are not ours and then linking it to our site. If you could send us a link, we can verify the pine. Please be aware that that when we do create graphics to pin, we are using our own photos. We do re-pin items of interest but they are always linked to the proper owner.

      Reply
  4. I was excited to try this for the Fourth of July, but it did not turn out a pretty color like the pictures. I must have done something wrong.

    Reply
    • Hi Lorry! We are sorry to hear! The color of how the cocktail turns out is very dependent on the butterfly pea flowers that you use. They come in different color variations so that may be the issue.

      Reply
  5. So lovely! You can achieve a similar effect with creme de violette – adding the citrus creates the same color shift!

    Reply

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