We are so excited to bring to you the most talked about ingredient this year, The Butterfly Pea Flower. This natural ingredient can magically turn from light blue to purple, magenta and so many other different shades to help you create vibrant colour recipes and drinks to pop on your social media. What we love about the Butterfly Pea Flower is how it is being grown, farmed and managed by those that should get the applause and credit they deserve for all their efforts and hard work.
WHAT IS BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER?
Westpoint’s Butterfly Pea Flowers are the delicate Clitoria ternatea flowers that have been hand-picked and sun-dried. They are sourced from a women-run cooperative of micro-farms in rural Thailand (Sukhothai) which do not use any artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Being micro-farms also limits their access to available resources to afford Kosher or Organic certifications even though they follow organic farming practices.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER?
Traditionally used as a mood booster, the Butterfly Pea Flower has also been consumed for centuries as a memory-boosting and calming tea. It help to reduce stress and has a soothing effect on the body. Rich in natural antioxidants, the Butterfly Pea plant is said to improve blood circulation, eye health as well as nourish skin and hair.
HOW DO YOU USE IT?
In south-east parts of Asia the flower is used as a caffeine-free tea and enjoyed as an after-dinner nightcap. The flower can be brewed into an infusion to be enjoyed as an herbal tea or incorporated into your baking recipes. It can also be used as the base for bright-blue beverages, or even frozen into ice cubes for colour-changing lemonades.
These flowers, like blueberries, contain a high concentration of a blue-violet pigment called anthocyanin. The colour of this natural pigment changes with the acidity of its environment. It starts out blue and is slowly transformed into purple and then magenta as you add an acidic ingredient, like lemon juice to the mix.
One of the most popular uses of the Butterfly Pea flower is as a naturally blue-coloured herbal tea or colour-changing lemonade which we are sure you have seen all over social media. Sometimes dubbed as a magical, unicorn-like colour, a deep blue shade will turn purple with the addition of lemon juice. If you want to see it change to a deeper shade of purple add more to the mix. You can even mix it with Westpoint Natural’s dried hibiscus flower and see it turn to a beautiful bright red color right in front of your eyes.
