The Anti-Inflammatory Blue Tea
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea is commonly enjoyed in Thailand and Vietnam after dinner or as a refreshing drink with lemon and honey. You can choose to leave the honey out or swap it for a sweetener of your choice.
Equipment
- 1 Teapot
- 1 Kettle or small pot
- 1 Small strainer
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Mug
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Dried Butterfly Pea flowers or fresh flowers (approximately 14 flowers)
- 1 lemon
- 25 fl oz water (700 ml)
- Honey or sweetener to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Pour 25 fl oz of water (700 ml) into a pot and bring it to a boil.
- Now add 2 heaped teaspoons of Butterfly Pea flowers to your teapot. If you’re using fresh flowers, remove any green stalks and leaves from the bottom first or these may make your tea bitter (you don’t need to do this with dried flowers).
- Once the water has boiled, pour it into the teapot and put the lid on, and let it steep for 10-15 minutes. If you don’t have a teapot, use a pot to boil the water and when the water has boiled you can remove the pot from the stovetop and simply add the flowers, placing a lid on the pot after.
- While your tea is steeping, cut your lemon in half.
- When your flowers have been in the water for 10-15 minutes pour the water into a mug through a strainer.
- Squeeze half a lemon into each mug and watch the color change from bright blue to a purple hue.
- You can now drink your tea once it’s cooled down enough for you. Since the tea has lemon juice in it, remember to rinse your mouth out with water after each mug you drink to remove the acid and protect your tooth enamel.You can also play around with adding extra ingredients and flavor combinations (e.g. mint, lemongrass, or ginger). As the blue tea has such a subtle flavor it lends itself to many additions so choose ones that you like and are beneficial to your health and enjoy.