The Blue Latte That Changes Colour: The Edible Chemistry of Butterfly Pea Flower
Few kitchen spectacles beat this one: you pour lemonade over an indigo-blue tea and, before your eyes, it turns purple and then pink. It is not magic, and it is not food colouring: it is the flower of Clitoria ternatea, better known as butterfly pea.
The (edible) science of the colour change
Butterfly pea petals are loaded with anthocyanins, the natural blue-purple pigments. These pigments are pH-sensitive: in neutral water they look indigo blue; add something acidic (lemon, lime) and they shift to purple and pink. It is the same phenomenon that makes red cabbage change colour as it cooks.
The chameleon latte recipe
- Dissolve 2 g of butterfly pea flower powder in 100 ml of warm water.
- Fill a glass halfway with ice and lemonade.
- Pour the blue in slowly on top... and film it vertical, because this is a video.
And in our Blue Blend
The Blue Matcha Blend pairs butterfly pea with blue spirulina (phycocyanin) and oolong tea: the deepest blue in our Chromatic Collection, with a soft, floral profile. Blue from flowers and algae - zero artificial colourings, as always.
