Lemonade topped with butterfly pea flower tea and sparkling water. This sparkling butterfly pea flower tea lemonade is simple, delicious, and perfect for summer.
Happy Wednesday!
It’s finally officially summer!
Yay!! Are you as excited as I am? Every summer, I always look forward to the stone fruits and the berries. They’re a staple in my life during these warmish summer months. I’ll eat my weight in peaches and nectarines. And devour cherries since their season is super short. I’ll buy berries in bulk at the farmer’s market.
With the weather warming up in so many places, but not necessarily SF, I wanted to share with you this sparkling butterfly pea flower tea lemonade.
Have you ever heard of butterfly pea flower tea? I first came across it when I went to a milk tea shop. I loved that this particular tea changes color when acidity is introduced to it. The tea starts out as a dark blue color, but once lemon juice or lime juice is introduced to it, the tea changes to a purple color. I absolutely love that. So, of course, I needed to create a recipe using this particular tea.
I was given the butterfly pea flower tea, but you can definitely find this at Asian tea shops and online. I used the dried flowers, but they do come in powdered form too.
TIP: the trick to getting the layered look in drinks is ice. Fill the glass with the first layer. Add enough ice so that the ice is higher than the first layer of liquid. When you add the second layer of liquid, pour the liquid in so that it hits the ice. That way it doesn’t disturb the first layer. And you can keep doing this to get the layered look in any drink.
In a small pot, heat up water until it comes to a simmer. Remove the pot from heat and add the butterfly pea flowers and let it steep for several minutes. The longer the flowers steep, the darker the color. This will make a few servings of drinks.
In a tall glass, add elderflower syrup to the bottom of the glass. Then add lemon juice.
Add about 1/2- 3/4 cup ice to the glass so that the ice is higher than the lemon juice. Pour the butterfly pea flower tea so that it hits the ice, creating a layered effect.
Add more ice to the glass so that it’s higher than the butterfly pea flower tea. Then top the glass with club soda. Add more crushed ice.
Garnish the sparkling butterfly pea flower tea lemonade with lemon wedges if desired. Serve cold and stir before drinking.
Enjoy!
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 tablespoons dried butterfly pea flowers
- 2-3 tablespoons elderflower syrup
- Juice of ½ lemon/lime
- ½ cup crushed ice
- ¼ - ⅓ cup butterfly pea flower tea
- ½ cup crushed ice
- ½ cup club soda
- Lemon/lime wedges for garnish
- In a small pot, heat up water until it comes to a simmer. Remove the pot from heat and add the butterfly pea flowers and let it steep for several minutes. The longer the flowers steep, the darker the color. This will make a few servings of drinks.
- In a tall glass, add elderflower syrup to the bottom of the glass. Then add lemon juice.
- Add about ½- 3/4 cup ice to the glass so that the ice is higher than the lemon juice. Pour the butterfly pea flower tea so that it hits the ice, creating a layered effect.
- Add more ice to the glass so that it’s higher than the butterfly pea flower tea. Then top the glass with club soda. Add more crushed ice.
- Garnish the sparkling butterfly pea flower tea lemonade with lemon wedges if desired. Serve cold and stir before drinking.
Oh my gosh. This not only looks refreshing but so much fun. I am going to look for the tea in my local stores and see if I can find it and give it a try. Thanks!!