With Bella Luna Blue nearly here I wanted to explore that magical color-changing ingredient: Butterfly Pea Flower! I conducted some experiments to get a full spectrum of color with this beauty.

Butterfly Pea Flower, from the Clitoria ternatea plant, is known for the rich blue color it produces when infused. On its own, the butterfly pea flower does not have much of a taste- just a mild alkaline aftertaste that is only noticeable when paired with very delicate base teas. This makes it a fun addition to a wide variety of teas for anyone that likes to play around with vibrant colors.

First, let's try it without any other additions. I tried out a few different pea flower-to-water ratios and eventually settled on approximately 1 tsp (8-10 individual flowers) per cup of water. Increasing the amount of butterfly pea flower beyond this didn't seem to make much of a difference in the final color. After a steep time of 3 minutes at 212F, a cup of water steeped with 8 individual pea flowers had pretty much the same saturation of color as a cup with double the amount of pea flowers. It produced the vibrant blue color we're used to seeing with Bella Luna Blue !

Above you see Jasmine Phoenix Pearls, steeped at 180F for 2 minutes. The steep with butterfly pea flowers had a slightly heavier mouthfeel than the jasmine phoenix pearls on their own. Otherwise, there was no noticeable difference in taste and texture.

Other traditional chinese green teas, like a Pi Lo Chun, would produce a similar color. Japanese greens such as Sencha Overture tend to have a more saturated yellow tone, so I would expect a color closer to teal with the butterfly pea flowers added.

Adagio's flavored greens (like the Mango Green) tend to result in a more saturated yellow tea, so adding the pea flowers would produce a more vibrant teal color.

Here is Silver Needle, steeped at 180F for 3 minutes. On its own, Silver Needle has a very delicate flavor with subtle floral and melon notes. Because of its delicate flavor and light mouthfeel, Silver Needle was one of the few teas that was noticeably different with the addition of butterfly pea flower.

Other white teas tend to have a more yellow color, so adding butterfly pea flower would produce a more teal color, and wouldn't affect the taste quite as much.

A flavored white tea would have much the same result unless the blend contains some hibiscus, such as White Eternal Spring. This would give the base tea a slightly pink-ish hue, which would create a purple color when the pea flower is added.

This is Chamomile, steeped at 212F for 5 minutes. On its own, chamomile tea has a lovely bright yellow color. When combined with butterfly pea flowers, the result is a vivid teal color, with no change in taste.

Another chamomile-based tea such as the Cha Cha blend would produce a slightly darker teal color, depending on what other herbal ingredients are in the blend.

Take a look at Jade Oolong steeped at 180F for 3 minutes! Adding butterfly pea flower to Jade Oolong yielded a vibrant teal color. There was no discernable difference in taste or texture.

Another green oolong, like Ti Kuan Yin or Coconut Pouchong (a personal favorite) would yield a similar color.

Many of Adagio's flavored oolongs, such as Grapefruit or Vanilla Oolong, use a darker oolong as a base tea. My expectation for the darker oolongs is that the flavor would remain unchanged, but the color would be a greenish-brown, similar to the Earl Grey Bravo shown below.

And here is Irish Breakfast and Thai Tea produced much the same result.

I would expect a similar color and no change in taste for other black teas with the exception of a first flush Darjeeling, which might be slightly overpowered by the addition of butterfly pea flower.

I'd also expect the same result from adding pea flower to rooibos teas, which have a similar dark orange hue on their own.

Might want to save your flowers and pass on varieties that brew up quite dark, and just enjoy their delicious flavor!

Vibrant Berry Blast, steeped at 212F for 5 minutes. The bright red color of this base tea comes from dried hibiscus. When combined with the butterfly pea flower, the final color was a lovely deep wine color.

Adding butterfly pea flower didn't have any effect on this tea's strong fruity flavor. I would expect a similar result from other fruity herbals blends containing hibiscus, such as the popular Blood Orange or Wild Strawberry.

And finally- Kona Pineapple, steeped at 212F for 5 minutes. The base tea has a very pale yellow color, and a strong pineapple taste that definitely withstands any aftertaste from the butterfly pea flower. Since pineapple is very acidic, it causes the blue coloring from the butterfly pea flower to turn into a gorgeous reddish-purple. In my opinion, this one was a winner!

And there you have it- a way to create a tea rainbow with the addition of one little flower!